Changes
by melody's muse
Summary: The year of 2008 brings a lot of exciting changes for the Kovich family. Follows my last story: A Port Charles Christmas.
1. Default Chapter

A/N: Okay, girls, here it is! The sequel you've been waiting for. Let me know what you think:)

FYI: Just in case you didn't read my first Rali story, "Heaven Sent an Angel," or if you read it and forgot b/c it was such a long time ago, I did want to remind everyone that Ed was never Rafe's father in my story, since I started writing my story way back in Secrets. Just didn't want there to be any confusion! You'll see why at the end of this chapter!

Alright, enough of me talking, here's chapter one!

**Chapter 1**

Sunlight streamed into the bedroom, casting a soft, golden light onto the heap of tangled white sheets.

The sound of female laughter resonated throughout the room as a perfectly polished bare foot poked out from under the covers.

"Rafe, you are so bad."

"Oh _I'm_ the bad one? You're the one who took my clothes off."

Alison laughed again. "I know but _again?"_

Rafe pulled the covers over to reveal Alison, laying on her side and grinning at him. "Come on, you know you want to."

"I don't know if we have time…"

"Sure we do," Rafe said, pulling Alison into his arms and kissing her.

Whether it was Alison's recent surge of hormones, or the idea of impending fatherhood that seemed to turn Rafe on, lately, the pair of them couldn't keep their hands off of each other.

"What about our daughter?" Alison whispered after a few moments.

"_What_ about our daughter?"

"She's going to wake up soon."

"I think she's already awake."

"What!"

Rafe laughed. "Relax. She's watching Saturday morning cartoons. Shh. Listen. Can't you hear that?"

Alison paused. "Yeah, I do think I hear the television."

"Exactly. That should keep her occupied for another half hour. Hmm?" Rafe pulled her closer once again, trying to get her mind back on him and not their daughter.

Alison gently pulled away. "No, it doesn't. Because sooner or later she's going to want some food. No, we don't have time to do it again."

Alison moved to sit up, but Rafe gently took her arm, pulling her back to him. "Hey. What happened to the woman I woke up with this morning? She was all over me, remember?"

"I really want to. Believe me. It's just that I don't know if we have time."

"I can be really quick," Rafe said in all seriousness.

Alison grinned, a sign that she was considering it. "How quick?"

"No time to explain," Rafe said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back down to the bed with him. Within moments, they were back under the covers, laughing.

Rafe showered her with kisses, starting at her neck, working his way up back to her lips. But as he kissed her, he got the feeling that Alison wasn't really "with" him. He looked at her, and it seemed as if she were a million miles away.

"What is it?" he finally asked.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something. Something important."

"That's the point. Forget everything, except what's going on right here," Rafe said with a grin. "What better way to spend a Saturday morning, huh? Forgetting the world outside…just you…and me…and this bed," he said between kisses.

Alison gave him a smile, deciding to push all thoughts away from her mind. She pulled him closer to her, resuming their kiss.

As Rafe's hands roamed up and down her body, they eventually settled on her stomach. Alison smiled, thinking of the little baby growing inside of her. She couldn't wait until the baby was born, even if they did have about five more months to go. Thinking of this, of course, make her think about her upcoming prenatal checkup. They were going to have the ultrasound today.

_Today?_

And then, the thought occurred to her, and she realized why things felt so "off".

"Mother of Mary! IT'S FRIDAY!"

"WHAT?"

"Oh my god! What time is it!" Alison shot up, scrambling to find the clock.

"Are we late for something?"

"It's Friday! Of course we're late for something!" Alison grabbed the clock on the nightstand, and she couldn't believe the time when she saw it. "Great! That's just great! We have thirty minutes to make it to our prenatal appointment! Thanks, Rafe!"

"What are you blaming me for?"

Alison grabbed her robe off the floor, quickly putting it on. "You made me think it was Saturday!" Alison ran to the dresser and rummaged through the drawers, finding what she was looking for and throwing it to Rafe. "Here! Put some pants on!"

"Well you're the one who wanted to have _sex_ all morning!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! So did you!"

"You started it!"

"Well it didn't help that you just let me!"

"Like I was going to say no to _that_?" Rafe laughed as he rushed to pull on his pants.

"Well, you could have said, 'Alison, don't you have things to do today?' Or, 'Hey, Alison, what time is your appointment with Dr. Meadows?'"

"I didn't know it was today! I thought it was Saturday too, you know!"

"I told you last night! I said, 'Rafe, we have an appointment tomorrow morning. We're going to get the ultrasound.'"

"Well I couldn't remember the time! If I remember correctly, a doctor's appointment was the last thing on your mind this morning."

"I'm pregnant, Rafe!" Alison snapped. "My mind's spacey, and you know that! It's your job to make sure I don't forget!"

Suddenly, several little knocks were heard at the door. "Mommy!"

"Baby, I'll be out in just a minute!"

"I'm hungry!" Katrina turned the doorknob repeatedly. "Hey! Why's the door locked?"

"Katrina, go watch TV. I'll make you breakfast in a little bit. Oh we are _so_ late! This is not _even_ funny!"

"It kind of is, actually," Rafe laughed, thinking of irony of it all.

Alison glared at him from across the room, and Rafe knew to keep his mouth shut after that.

* * *

"We lucked out," Alison announced as Rafe walked into the kitchen. "I was able to reschedule my appointment for 11. Dr. Meadows had a cancellation this morning." 

"Oh good. See? All that worrying for nothing."

"You got to see the doctor today, Mommy?"

"Yes, baby."

"Are you sick?"

"No, sweetie. It's just a check-up. Oh, I better call Livvie." Alison reached for the phone on the wall and dialed a number. "Hey, it's me…I'm going to be a little longer. I had to reschedule my appointment. Can you hold down the fort?…Thanks, sweetie. I'll see you later."

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"I don't think you should go to work today."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Because if you do you're gonna eat a bunch of cookies and cupcakes and stuff."

Alison smiled, thinking she sounded a bit like her father, who hated that she ate so many sweets. "You don't think I should eat that?"

Katrina shook her head. "No, I think you're eatin' too much of it. You're getting fat!"

Rafe looked up from his paper, stifling a laugh.

"Well I'll be sure to lay off the sweets for a while," Alison said. "Katrina, are you finished with this cereal and toast?"

"Yes."

"Well then go brush your teeth."

Katrina did as she was told, and Alison picked up the bowl of milk, pouring it into the sink.

"We should probably tell her soon," Rafe said.

Alison moved back to the table, sitting down beside Rafe. "I think you're right. Let's tell her tonight. And maybe Dr. Meadows can give us a picture or a video of the ultrasound so we can show her. Do I really look fat?"

Rafe laughed softly. "Alison, you're not fat. You look fine."

"Honey, kids don't lie. Not when it comes to stuff like that. She thinks I'm fat!"

"Alison, you're pregnant. She doesn't know the reason why your stomach is a little bit bigger."

"Is my face puffy?"

"Your face is not puffy. Look, the only thing about you that's gotten bigger is your belly and it's not even by much yet. Katrina just notices it more because she's shorter and it's right at her eye level."

"Hmm. Okay," Alison said, still not completely convinced.

Rafe gave her a smile. "You look beautiful," he said, trying to reassure her. "Believe me, if I didn't think so, I wouldn't have been trying so hardto keep you in bed all morning."

Alison laughed a little, thinking of earlier. "That was some morning, wasn't it?"

"Yes. We should do that again," Rafe grinned.

"When it's _really_ Saturday," Alison added.

* * *

"How are we doing today?" Dr. Meadows asked as she walked into the room, carrying her clipboard. 

"We're great!" Alison said, beaming. "The morning sickness is finally gone."

"Good. How's your little girl doing?" she asked as she began to set things up.

"She's good."

"Her fifth birthday is Sunday," Rafe added. "She's having a party and it's all she can talk about lately."

"Wow, five years old. That's amazing. I remember when she was just a day old. Have you told her the good news yet?"

"Not yet, but we were planning on it tonight," Alison explained. "We were hoping we could get some pictures from the ultrasound to show her."

"Well I think that sounds like something we can manage," Dr. Meadows said with a smile. "Alright, you know the drill. I'm going to put this cold jelly on your belly and then we can get things started."

Alison couldn't help but laugh, even though she had been through this before.

"We didn't do the 3d ultrasound last time with Katrina, did we?"

Alison's eyes widened in surprise. "We get the 3d ultrasound?"

Dr. Meadows smiled. "You've heard of it."

"I saw it on _Oprah_! Like a _long_ time ago. I didn't know it was available yet!"

"We just started a few years ago. We find it has much better results, and the parents like it better as well."

"What's the 3d ultrasound?" Rafe interrupted.

"Rafe! You haven't heard of it?"

Rafe shook his head. "How's it different from a regular ultrasound?"

"See for yourself," Dr. Meadows said as a stunning image on the monitor began to take shape.

"Oh my god," Alison gasped, mesmerized by what she was seeing.

Rafe was stunned. He had no idea the ultrasound would have this much of an impact on him. "Oh wow. That's a baby. That's _really_ a baby."

Dr. Meadows laughed softly. She loved hearing the reactions from parents when they first saw the ultrasound.

"Oh my god. Look at that face. That beautiful face," Alison said, reaching out and touching the screen.

"I can't believe it's so clear. I've never seen anything like it."

"It's nothing like the grainy images you're used to. With this new technology, you actually get to see what your baby looks like before it's born."

"Rafe! That face looks just like you!"

"That is amazing," Rafe said, just as mesmerized as Alison was.

"If you think that's amazing, wait until you see the 4d."

And suddenly, the still pictures they had been viewing on the screen were put into motion. The tiny baby suddenly moved it's arm, then opened its mouth, yawning right before their eyes.

"Oh that's so cute! I didn't know babies could yawn in the womb!" Alison exclaimed.

"We've learned a lot about the development of the fetus in the past few years. They can yawn, smile, suck their thumbs, stretch. They even start to move earlier than we thought."

Rafe found it hard to tear his eyes away from the screen for even a moment. "That's incredible."

"I see five fingers," Dr. Meadows said, as the baby once again moved its little hand.

"You can see them so clearly," Alison said. "I can count each one of them!"

"Let's count toes next, shall we?" Dr. Meadows said as she made the image of a precious littlefoot appear.

"Look at the little foot!" Alison said with a laugh.

"Those are definitely your feet," Rafe remarked.

"Would you like to know if it's a boy or a girl?" Dr. Meadows asked.

"I think I already know," Rafe said, smiling.

Alison looked to Rafe. "You do?"

Rafe grinned. "Just look, Alison."

Alison looked at the screen a little closer. "Oh my goodness! That's a little boy!"

Dr. Meadows laughed. "Sorry if you wanted to be surprised. Sometimes it's hard to tell from the baby's position and other times, they want to display it all for you."

"I knew it was going to be a boy," Alison said with a smile. "Can we get a video of this?"

"Of course. Why don't I give you two a few moments? I have another patient I need to check on. I'll be back shortly to finish the exam." Dr. Meadows smiled as she left the room.

Rafe and Alison looked back at the monitor, seeing the picture of the baby's face that Dr. Meadows had left on the screen.

It was then that Alison begin to cry. "He's so beautiful, Rafe."

"Yes, he is. He's very beautiful."

Before Alison could even ask, Rafe was already handing her a kleenex. "I'm glad Dr. Meadows still keeps these in here," he said.

Alison wiped the tears from her eyes, then once again, turned her attention to the beautiful little face on the screen. She touched the screen again, smiling in awe of it all. "God, I love technology."

Rafe put his hand on her belly, hoping he could feel his son move like he had seen on the monitor. "We should start thinking of some names for the little guy, now that we can see a face."

Alison looked to Rafe, smiling guiltily.

Rafe knew what that meant. "You've already named him, haven't you?"

"Well there was a name that I did have in mind," she admitted.

"What is it?"

"Well, I was thinking. We named our daughter after your mother. So maybe we could name our son after your father. What do you think?"

Rafe smiled. Alison amazed him sometimes. She had never even met his parents, and yet, she had twice had the idea of honoring them by naming their children after them.

"Alison, I think that's a great idea. I love it. Thank you."

"Look at him. He even looks like a Gabriel. See? He's our little Gabe!"

Rafe heart melted. His father would have been proud of him. "How about the middle name?"

Alison smiled to Rafe. "I'll leave that one up to you."

"Can we name him after Ed?"

Alison smiled again. "I think he would love that. Gabriel Edward Kovich. It's perfect."

"It truly is," Rafe agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thanks for all of the reviews, girls! I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and I'm having fun writing it!

**Chapter 2**

"Daddy!"

"Hey, Princess!" Rafe smiled as he watched Katrina run to him, her braided pigtails flying out behind her. When she reached him, he scooped her up in his arms, and then gave her a scowl. "Whoa! You smell like a _horse_!"

Katrina laughed. "Gus let me help him in the stables!"

"Oh yeah? Well that would explain it," Rafe said as he put her down.

Rafe headed toward the car, and Katrina followed him.

"Yep. I helped him feed the horses! And I got to ride Cookie!"

"Well it's straight into the bathtub for you when we get home!"

"Yeah, because I stink! But that's okay because it's not like I got stinky on purpose!"

Rafe laughed. "What else did you do today? Did you have fun with Nana?"

"Yeah! We had teatime! And we used her fancy cups and I didn't even drop it! Then I played in the attic and it was a lot of fun but then Nana made me come out because she said it was a big mess in there!"

"Well it sounds like you have a great day."

"Can we go to McDonalds?" Katrina suddenly asked.

"Not tonight, Princess. Mommy's going to cook us some lasagna."

"Oh boy! I love lasagna!"

"And Mommy and I have a big surprise for you too."

Katrina's eyes widened with excitement. "OOO! What Daddy?"

"You'll have to wait and see!"

"Is it something for my birthday?"

"Hmm, well I guess it could be a birthday surprise. It's really big news. You'll be really excited when you hear it."

"Tell me Daddy!" Katrina jumped up and down. She _loved_ surprises!

Rafe laughed. "Nope. Not now." Rafe opened the car door and Katrina climbed into the back seat. "Buckle up."

"Bye, Gus!" Katrina called out, waving goodbye to Amanda's stableman.

"Bye, little miss!" he called out.

Rafe waved to Gus, then got into the car himself. He checked the rearview mirror, making sure Katrina was strapped in, then started up the car.

"When will you tell me the big surprise?"

Rafe smiled. He had to have known if he brought up the subject now, it would be all he'd hear about on the way home.

"Tonight. We have to wait for Mommy."

"Where's Mommy?"

"Mommy's at the grocery store picking up some things."

"Will she be home when we get there?"

"Maybe."

"Then you'll tell me!"

"Then we'll tell you," he promised.

* * *

As Rafe walked down the hallway, he could hear Katrina splashing in the tub, singing to her heart's content. Rafe smiled. She would always sing when she was happy.

"Hey, Daddy! C'mere!"

Rafe poked his head into the bathroom. "Yes, Princess?"

"Is Mommy home yet?"

"Yes. She's getting dinner started."

"What's the big surprise!"

Rafe laughed. "I can't tell you yet!"

"But you said you'd tell me as soon as Mommy got home!"

"Well Mommy's busy cooking dinner right now, and you're busy taking a bath."

"No, I'm done!" Katrina started to reach for her towel.

"Uh uh, get back in that tub!" Rafe laughed. "You just got in! You're not clean yet!"

"Yes I am, Daddy! I scrubbed behind my ears!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh!"

"Did you wash your _sweaty armpits_?"

Katrina laughed. "Yes."

"Did you clean the lint out of your _bellybutton_?"

Katrina laughed again. "Yes."

"Did you wash your _stinky feet_?"

Katrina laughed even harder. "Yes!"

Rafe gave her a look. "No…I don't believe you! Let me see the bottom of your foot."

Katrina stuck a foot out of the tub and showed her father.

"Just as I suspected. A dirty foot! Someone's been walking around outside barefoot again."

"Oh, um, I forget to clean the bottoms!"

"Well you better scrub them! That's the dirtiest part of your whole foot!"

Katrina grabbed her soapy sponge and began scrubbing away.

"Did you wash your hair too?"

"Mommy has to help me with that, 'cause I can't do it by myself yet."

"Well what does Mommy do?" Rafe asked as he sat next to the tub and grabbed the kid shampoo and conditioner bottle.

"Mommy puts the soap in my hair, and then she puts water in that cup over there and rinses it all out."

"Okay, I think that sounds easy enough," Rafe said as he squirted some shampoo on his hand and began to make a lather.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"When I get finished when my bath, _then_ you'll tell me the _big surprise_?"

"We'll see," Rafe said, knowing he better hurry up washing her hair before he had to make her wait any longer. He was looking forward to telling her the good news too.

"Okay, close your eyes. Let's rinse the soap out." Rafe got out the cup and filled it with water.

"Wait. I gotta lean my head back. Don't get water in my eyes, okay?"

"I won't," Rafe promised, as he rinsed the suds out.

"Are ya done, Daddy?"

"We're finished!"

"Yay!"

Rafe begin to reach for the tub stopper.

"I wanna do it!" she begged. Katrina grabbed the rubber stopper and laughed as the water began to funnel down the drain.

"Come on, let's get you dry," Rafe said, holding out a towel and wrapping Katrina up in it.

"Now will you tell me the big surprise?" she asked as she stepped out of the bathtub.

"Go get dressed! Then we'll tell you!"

Katrina squealed in delight, as she ran out of the bathroom and down the hallway, still wrapped in the oversized towel.

Rafe laughed as he watched her run out.

* * *

"Just a warning," Rafe said as he walked into the kitchen, seeing Alison put the lasagna in the oven. "Katrina's bouncing off the walls waiting to hear the big news."

Alison laughed. "Well it's perfect timing. Dinner is in the oven and that gives us plenty of time to tell her. Let's go to the living room."

Rafe followed Alison into the living room. Moments later, Katrina came running to them, dressed her pajamas.

"I'm ready!"

Alison laughed. "Baby, did Daddy not comb your hair? It's going to be all knotty!"

"Tell me the big surprise, Mommy!" she begged, ignoring her mother's question.

Rafe smiled at her. "Her hair is the last thing on her mind at the moment. She wants to hear the big news!"

Alison patted the couch, and Katrina took a seat.

Rafe smiled at Alison. "You tell her."

"Tell me! Tell me!" Katrina begged.

"Sweetie, do you remember at Christmas when Santa left you that very special note?"

Katrina eyes grew wide. She remembered it. "Are we getting a _baby?"_

"Yes, sweetie! You're going to have a little baby brother!"

"Oh wow! Will he be here tonight!"

"No baby, I'm afraid he won't be here tonight."

Katrina looked disappointed. "Tomorrow?"

"No, but you know what?" Alison asked, smiling.

"What?"

"I can tell you where he is."

Katrina smiled brightly. "Where?"

"Right here," Alison said, putting her hands over her stomach. "He's growing inside of my belly."

Katrina's jaw dropped in shock. "WHY? Did you EAT him!"

Rafe and Alison tried to hold back their laughter, but it was quite impossible.

Alison regained her composure. "No sweetie. That's just where babies grow! They grow inside of the mommy's tummy."

"Oh."

"You see, that's why my tummy is starting to get a little bit bigger. It's because the baby is growing inside. And the bigger he gets, the bigger I'll get too."

"You know what?" Rafe said, smiling at his daughter. "You were once inside your mommy's belly too."

Katrina laughed. "Nuh uh!" She didn't believe it.

"You were!" Rafe said. "And sometimes, I would put my hands on your mommy's tummy like this, and you would kick me!"

"I was never THAT small!" Katrina declared.

"Well you may not believe it, but it's true. You were once a tiny little baby, and you were so small that you could fit inside me. And now, another baby is growing inside of me, and he'll stay in there until he's ready to come out."

"When will the baby come out? Will he come out in time for my birthday?"

"Afraid not, Princess. It's going to be a few months. But do you want to see him?"

Katrina jaw dropped once again. "I can SEE him?"

"Sure. Just a minute." Rafe got up, walking over to the television to set the ultrasound video up.

Once the video began to play, Katrina was completely mesmerized.

"Do you see him, sweetie?" Alison asked.

"I see a cute little baby!"

"That's him. That's your baby brother. His name is Gabe," Alison told her.

Katrina looked up at her mother and smiled. "Does this mean that I'm gonna be a big sister?"

Alison smiled. "It sure does. And being a big sister is a really important job. It means you'll get to help out Mommy and Daddy more, and you'll have to teach your little brother things and play with him."

"Wow! I can't wait 'til Gabe gets here! We're gonna have so much fun!"

Alison smiled, giving her daughter a hug. "We sure are, sweetie."

Rafe joined in, kissing Katrina on the forehead, and then Alison before pulling them both in for a hug.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews girls!

Aimee, I can tell you right now that she'll definitely be a lot like Alison ;) But I guess in some ways, she'll be like both of her parents.

And now for more of...Gracie, I think you said it best...the cutest kid on the planet! LOL!

**Chapter 3**

The day started much like it had started the day before.

The sheets were a tangled mess as both of them lay laughing and moving around underneath. They had spent the whole morning making love.

Rafe moved the covers from Alison, looking into her eyes, kissing her. Then gently, he pulled away.

"Do you know what day it is?" he asked. 

Alison's eyes shot open. "If you tell me it isn't Saturday, you're going to be very sorry!"

Rafe started laughing. "It's Saturday. I just wanted to see how you would react."

"Rafe!" Alison grabbed her pillow, giving Rafe a good smack with it. "Not funny!"

"Hey!" Rafe laughed, putting his arms around her, pushing her down into the mattress.

"Oh, what are you going to do? Punish me for hitting you with the pillow?"

"I might," Rafe whispered, closing his eyes as he bent down and kissed her lips.

After a while, the two of them lay together, watching the room brighten as the sun came up

Alison was deep in thought, thinking about many things, but mostly, the baby.

"Rafe?"

"Yeah?"

"Where will we put the baby?"

"Well, I suppose we'll have to use the spare bedroom. We can turn that into a nursery."

"Yeah, but where will we move all of the things in that room to?"

"I guess we'll find someplace for it. We can't very well have the baby sleep in Katrina's room. If worse comes to worse, we can get one of those bassinet type things and he can sleep in our room for a while until we can clear out the spare bedroom."

"I have a better idea."

"What's that?"

"How about a new house altogether?"

Rafe looked to Alison, surprised. "You think?"

"Well, Rafe, think about it. With a new baby and all, it's going to be a crowded house if we don't find a bigger place. The garage is already about to bust open with all of Katrina's toys. We can't even park the cars in there!"

"You're right. With another baby, we're going to need a bigger place. How about we start looking for a new house next week?"

Alison smiled. "Actually, I've already started."

"Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, I did. Eve told me few months back that a house in her neighborhood would probably be going up for sale soon. And she was right. The 'for sale' sign just went up this week. It's this beautiful white house! So yesterday afternoon, I stopped by to see it, and there was an open house. So of course, I peeked. Rafe, you should see the inside! It's gorgeous!"

"What does it look like?"

"It hasa big living room, a big kitchen! There's a nice dining room, and even a little laundry room! And the upstairs…"

"It has a second floor?"

"Yes! And it's beautiful!"

"How many bedrooms?"

"Four."

"Well that should be enough!"

"More than enough! Unless you were planning on having ten kids."

"Well…" Rafe laughed.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you the _best_ part!"

"What?"

"The master bedroom. It's huge! And the master bathroom! Two sinks!"

"Two sinks!"

"We can get ready at the same time! And you should see the tub. It's huge!"

"I'll have to check out this place."

"Rafe, I love it. I think it's the one."

"Are you sure you don't want to look at anything else? We probably should."

"Well we can. But sometimes you just get a feeling about these kinds of things, and I think it's perfect. Plus, it's close to everything. I could walk to Livvie's house, Rafe! It's closer to all of Katrina's friends. The park is not far away. I could even walk to work it's that close."

Rafe smiled. "Well I guess we better get busy then. We've got a lot of packing to do."

"Oh, we have time. We can do that later."

"Why not now? It's Saturday! How about we get a head start on things? I can go to work and bring home some boxes."

"No, let's not start now. We'll start later."

"Why?

Alison sighed. "Do I really have to spell it out for you?"

Rafe looked confused.

"Katrina's still sleeping," Alison whispered.

"Oh," Rafe said, finally getting it. "You're right. We'll start later."

With that, the two of them crept back under the covers.

* * *

Katrina sat at the coffee table with her pad of paper and box of crayons. She had decided to draw her baby brother a picture. 

The doorbell suddenly rang, and Alison ran over to answer it.

"Hey!"

"Hey!" Livvie said. "You ready to go?"

"Actually, give me another minute. I just realized these pants are tighter than I thought they would be. I'm going to go change."

"Okay, take your time," Livvie said as she watched Alison head back to her bedroom. "Hey, Katrina."

"Hey, Aunt Livvie!"

"What are you drawing?"

"A picture. Guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm gonna have a baby brother!"

"I heard!"

"This picture is for him. You wanna see my little brother's movie?"

"Okay."

"Sit down!"

Livvie smiled, taking a seat on the couch while Katrina got up and walked over to the television. She picked up a tape and put it into the VCR.

Within a few moments, the ultrasound video began to play.

"See? There he is! That's Gabe. He's growing in my mommy's belly right now! Did you know that?"

"Yes, I did! He's beautiful!"

Katrina walked over to the couch and sat down beside her. "Mommy says that since I'm gonna be a big sister now, I can help teach him things. I'm gonna teach him how to ride a pony. When he's bigger. Like me."

Livvie smiled. "Well I'm sure you'll be a great big sister. You'll help your mom and dad out a lot."

"Hey! You coming to my birthday party tomorrow?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it!"

"I'm gonna be five years old! That means I can start school soon. Daddy says if he can't find a school for only girls around here then he's gonna homeschool me. Mommy says he's just crazy."

Livvie laughed out loud. Katrina was the funniest kid she knew. "Well, your dad is a little crazy, but don't worry, I think your mom will win this one." Livvie gave her a wink.

"Yeah. She already registered me for kindergarten!" Katrina laughed. "Hey, where are you and Mommy going?"

"Your mom and I are going to out to dinner. Then maybe dancing or something. Sort of a girls night out."

"What's a 'girls night out'?"

"It's when you get together with all your girlfriends and go have fun, without men."

"Can I come too? I'm a girl!"

"Sorry, sweetie, it's kind of a grown up thing. Besides, I think you would have more fun staying here with your dad."

"Okay, I'm ready!" Alison announced, walking into the room with a much more comfortable pair of jeans on.

"Alright, let's go," Livvie said, standing up and grabbing her purse.

"Bye, baby," Alison said, giving Katrina a kiss on her cheek.

"Bye, Mommy."

"Don't let Daddy throw away any sweets in the house, okay? I'll make him sleep on the couch if he does," she whispered.

Katrina giggled. "Okay."

"Good girl. See you later, baby."

* * *

"Is it ready yet, Daddy?" Katrina asked. 

Rafe looked at the microwave's timer. "Three more seconds."

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"_Uh-oh, Spaghettios_!" Katrina cheered.

Rafe set the microwavable kid-size bowl of spaghetti rings in front of her and removed the lid. "Be careful, it's hot."

"Mmm!" Katrina licked her lips.

Rafe smiled, watching her dig in. He then headed to the pantry.

"What are you gonna have for dinner, Daddy?"

"I'm not sure yet. Let me see what we have in here."

"You can have some of my _Uh-oh, Spaghettios._"

"What is all this?" Rafe complained, taking out a box of cookies and a half-eaten bag of chips.

"Snacks!"

"No, not snacks. Junk food. Bought by your mother, I'm sure."

"Don't throw it away, Daddy! You'll be sorry!"

Rafe wanted to throw it away, but he knew what Alison would say about it. She'd accuse him of thinking she wasn't taking care of herself, but that wasn't the case. He just preferred she'd eat more healthy snacks when she was pregnant.

"Mommy said if you touch her food, she'll make you sleep on the couch."

Rafe put the food back into the pantry. Alison was usually serious when she said things like that.

* * *

After dinner, Katrina found her father sitting on the couch, reading through the paper. She climbed up onto the couch beside him. 

"Hey, Daddy."

"Hey, Princess."

"Why you reading the paper now?"

"I was looking for something. And I found it." Rafe took a red marker, circling the ad he found.

"What'd ya find?"

"You want to go for a ride and see?"

"Yeah!"

"Come on, let's go."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Katrina asked, looking out of the window. "Are we going to Danny's?" 

"No."

"But this is the way to his house."

"Yes it is, but we're not going there."

"Where are we going then?"

"Right here." Rafe stopped the car, parking at the edge of the street. "You see that house there?"

"Yeah."

Rafe turned back to Katrina and smiled. "Let's get out and take a closer look."

Rafe got out of the car, then helped Katrina out. He took her hand and led her to the sidewalk.

"Who lives here, Daddy?"

"No one yet. You see that sign right there?" Rafe pointed to the sign in the lawn.

"Uh huh."

"It says 'For Sale'. Which means someone will buy it soon, and they'll move in. Well, what do you think of it, Princess?"

"It's big!"

"Let's see if we can see the inside."

Rafe and Katrina walked up to the porch.

"Ooo! Look, Daddy! A porch swing! Just like Aunt Livvie and Uncle Jack's house!" Katrina immediately climbed into the swing. "Push me, Daddy!"

Rafe smiled, giving her a push.

"Whee!"

As Katrina played, Rafe tried to peer inside. He couldn't see much, and he cursed himself for going when it was too dark. But from what he could tell, the inside did look rather spacious. He could make out a staircase to his left, and a fireplace in the living room to his right.

Katrina hopped out of the swing and went to the window. She looked inside. "Where's the couch? Where's the TV?"

Rafe laughed. "The house doesn't come with furniture, Princess."

"Why would someone want to live in a house without the furniture and TV?"

Rafe laughed again. "They don't, Princess! Whoever moves in will bring all that stuff with them."

"Oh."

"Let's go look around the back."

"'Kay!"

Katrina ran down the steps, with Rafe behind her. Together, they headed towards the back, past the driveway and garage, around the side of the house, and through the gate that led to the backyard.

"WOW!" Katrina ran in circles around the yard. "Look at the big yard, Daddy!"

"Yeah, it is big!" Rafe took a look around, and he could see it already. Backyard barbeques, parties, chasing kids around the yard. It was perfect.

Rafe walked over to the back deck, which was nice and spacious. He looked through the sliding glass doors, seeing more of the house. The kitchen area looked rather spacious. Alison had always wanted a bigger kitchen.

Katrina came running to the deck and looked inside the house as well. "Daddy, how come we're here looking at this house?"

Rafe took a seat on the steps, inviting Katrina to sit beside him. "Well, your mother and I have been talking. We think with the new baby coming, we're going to need a bigger house."

"But a baby doesn't take up a lot of room. Babies are small."

"That's right, but you have to have a lot of stuff for a baby, like a crib, and changing table, and a rocking chair, and not to mention all of the toys. And all of that _will_ take up a lot of room. But this house, you see, is a lot bigger than ours, and I know Mommy really likes it. I think I like it too. What do you think?"

"I like the swing!"

Rafe laughed. "Well I tell you what. If we move into this house, I'll build you another one right over there. You'll have your own swingset right here in the backyard. Well, you'll have to share it with your brother, of course."

"And a slide too!"

"A slide too!"

"Oh boy! When do we get to move in?"

"It's not sure thing yet, Princess. We might get this house, we might not. But if we don't move here then we're going to find a new place soon, that's for sure."

"In a bigger house, right?"

"Yes, we're definitely moving someplace much bigger. And you can redecorate your room if you like. What color of paint would you want for your walls?"

"Um…I want pink!"

"Pink it is! Come on, Princess, let's go." Rafe stood up, taking his daughter's hand and helping her down the steps.

"Can I put a big horse on my wall too, Daddy?"

"If you want, sure!"

"Can I get some big letters to put on my wall too, like Charlotte has? Only it'll say 'KATRINA' on it?"

"Yeah, I think we can find those."

"We'll have to get one for Gabe too, won't we Daddy?"

"Yeah, we can get them for him too."

"He probably won't want his walls pink though. He'll probably stick his tongue out and say, 'Eww gross, pink is for girls! I'm a boy!'"

Rafe laughed. "We'll have to go with blue then."

"That's a good idea! Yeah, we'll paint his walls blue! And my walls pink! Blue for boys! Pink for girls!"

By this time, they had reached the car, and Katrina climbed in.

And on the way home, the house was all Rafe heard Katrina about.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Hope I didn't take too awful long to get out this chapter! It was a lot longer than I thought it would be (15 pages on word!) so it took a while to get it ready. Hope you enjoy it! Until 5! -Melody :)

**Chapter 4**

"Hold still, baby. I'm never going to get these curls in your hair if you keep moving."

"I want to go to my party!" Katrina begged. "Is it time yet?"

"It's not time for your party yet, sweetie."

"Well when will it be time for my party, Mommy?"

"Well, depends on when we get there, and at this rate, it's going to take a couple of hours to get your hair done," Alison said, still trying to curl the ends of her hair into little ringlets.

"Angel, her hair looks fine," Rafe said, walking into the bedroom. "Those curls are going to be out within ten minutes anyway."

"She wants curls. She's getting curls. It has to be perfect."

"Do you like my dress, Daddy?" Katrina had been waiting for what felt like _forever_ to wear this dress. It was a satin pink dress her mother had bought for her a month ago from Wyndham's. She even had a matching bow in her hair.

Rafe knelt down and smiled at his daughter. "I love it, Princess! It makes you look like you're five years old!"

"Hey! I _am_ five years old!" Katrina laughed.

"Oh! Well Happy Birthday then!"

Katrina rolled with laughter. Daddy always made her laugh.

Rafe gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Okay, I think that'll have to do for now," Alison said, putting down the curling iron.

"Can I go play now?"

"Yeah, you can play. But don't mess that pretty dress of yours up!"

"'Kay!" Katrina ran out of the room.

Alison then grabbed her notebook from the dresser, looking over her to-do list for the day.

"Okay, let's see what else we have to do," she said. " I have to pick up the cake from the bakery, the party people are delivering that jumpy thing, Gus is bringing the pony, I've got to get the party favors for the kids ready…I'm forgetting something. Oh! The magician! I don't even remember how much we're supposed to pay him!"

"Alison, calm down."

"We have so much to do!"

Rafe put his hands on her shoulders, then bringing her to the bed to sit down with him. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're beginning to sound a little bit like Lucy."

"I just want everything to be perfect."

"Angel, it's a five year old's birthday party. She'll love it no matter what. Everything is going to go fine."

"I hope so."

"It will. Hey," Rafe said, touching her chin and turning her face to his, making her look into his eyes. "What's really bothering you?"

"When I was a kid, Rafe, no one ever made a big deal out of my birthday. I mean, sure, I would get presents, but do you think my parents were ever there to watch me open them? Do you think they ever decided to go all out and throw me a birthday party and invite all of my friends from school? No. They didn't care. They were always too busy. Too busy taking some cruise in the Mediterranean or too busy laying on a beach in Aruba. They didn't give a damn about me. They still don't. And you know what? All of those presents they would give me? They were really nice gifts. Things that would make all of the other girls envious of me. But I didn't care about any of it. All I really wanted was for them to just be there."

"I'm sorry, Alison." Rafe ran his finger across her cheek, gently wiping away a tear.

"I want Katrina to have the childhood that I never had. I want her to be able to grow up and be able to look back and have all of these wonderful memories. That's why I want her birthday to be really special."

"Well you know what?"

"What?"

"You don't have to try so hard," Rafe whispered. "Katrina's already the luckiest little girl in the world. This party will be anything but a disappointment to her. She'll love it. I know it."

Alison's smile returned. "You're right. I should stop worrying about it."

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Well…it would help me out a lot if you go to the party store and pick up the balloons. The pink and white ones. All you have to do is pick them up. They've already put helium in them and everything."

"Not a problem."

"You say that now, but good luck getting them into the car."

Rafe laughed. "I'll go pick them up. I'll see you later." Rafe got up, kissing her as he left.

"Thank you."

"Mommy!" Katrina ran into the room.

"Yes?"

"Could you put my necklace on?"

Alison smiled. "Sure. Sit down."

Katrina sat down beside her mother on the bed as Alison carefully fastened the clasp of Katrina's necklace.

"Okay, there you go."

"Thanks!"

"Turn around. Let me see."

"Am I pretty, Mommy?"

"You are very pretty! In fact, you're so pretty, I'm going to take a picture." Alison grabbed the camera off of the dresser. "Stand up so I can see your dress."

Katrina stood up, happily modeling her new dress for the camera.

"Okay, say 'cheese'."

"Cheese!'

Alison snapped the picture. She couldn't wait to see it.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Lucy, thank you so much for helping me out," Alison said as she set some items down on a picnic table. "I don't think I could have done all of this by myself."

"Oh you're welcome! I've planned many a party. This has been a piece of cake."

"Speaking of cake…look at this!" Alison proudly opened the box she had just set down and revealed Katrina's birthday cake. The cake was covered in white frosting with pink icing all around. In the center was a brown horse. Above the horse, it had "Happy Birthday, Katrina!" in pink icing.

"Aww! That's the cutest little birthday cake I've ever seen!"

"She insisted on having a horse on it. It took a lot of brown frosting but I think I did a good job if I do say so myself."

"You did! Oh, she'll love it!"

"Yeah, I can't wait until she sees it. Hey, you don't think I could get in trouble for having a pony in the park, do you?"

Lucy shook her head. "Not if your grandmother has anything to say about it."

"I better make sure _someone_ cleans up after that animal. It will _not_ be me though!"

Lucy laughed.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Katrina came running over to her mother, tugging on her dress excitedly.

"What is it, baby?"

"Come look!" Katrina grabbed her mother's hand, leading her over to the object that had made her so excited.

"Where are your shoes, Katrina?" Alison asked, noticing that she was completely barefoot.

"Over here! Look! The moonbounce is here!" Katrina cheered, climbing into the huge inflatable tent made for jumping.

Rafe poked his head out. "What do you think?" he asked Alison with a laugh.

"It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be!"

"Come inside and jump, Mommy!"

"No baby, I better not."

"Daddy's in here!"

"Yes, and Daddy is about to get out before he breaks it," Rafe said, carefully getting out of the moonbounce. "But I see someone who'll want to jump with you!"

"Hey girls!" Alison said, watching Christina and Charlotte run over to the moonbounce.

"Hey!" Christina said, throwing off her shoes and climbing up with no problem.

Charlotte slipped her shoes off as well, but she struggled a little, trying to get up.

Rafe picked the child up, placing her inside. "There you go."

Within minutes, the three girls were inside, jumping and laughing around.

"Looks like that's going to be the big hit," Livvie said, walking over to Rafe and Alison.

"One of Katrina's friends from daycare had one of these at her birthday party. So she begged if she could have one too."

"Mama! Look!" Charlotte called out.

Livvie gave her daughter a wave. "I'll have to get one of those for Charlotte's next birthday."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Since when did our daughter make so many friends?" Rafe asked, amazed at how many more kids had arrived in the span of just a few minutes

"Our daughter is very popular," Alison said with a laugh. "She wanted to invite her whole class."

"You have to take turns now!" Katrina instructed as she made her friends get in a line. "Little ones in the front. Come here, Charlotte. You get to ride Cookie first."

"How come _she_ gets to ride your pony first?" Katrina's friend Molly whined.

"Because she's the littlest, and little ones are supposed to go first, that's why."

"Ride pony! Ride pony!" Charlotte cheered, and then laughed as she was picked up and put on the animal.

"When will it be my turn?" Molly asked.

"You can go next. Then Cindy, you can go. If you don't want to wait, you can go jump for a while, and I'll call you when it's your turn."

"When do we get to have cake?" Cindy asked.

"After the magician comes."

Molly's eyes widened in surprise. "You have a _magician_ coming?"

"Uh huh! He's gonna do magic tricks and _everything_!"

Molly and Cindy looked at each other and smiled. "Cool!" they said.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Happy birthday, Katrina."

Katrina turned around, seeing Danny hold a big pink box with a bow on it.

"WOW! Is that for _me_?"

"Yep! It's for your birthday!"

"Thanks!" Katrina took the present and set it on the picnic table with the others. She turned back, giving him a big smile.

"I have a birthday song for you."

"You do?"

"Yeah. A song just for you! You wanna hear it?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay! Here goes!" Danny said with a smile, beginning his song.

_Happy Birthday to you,_

_You live in a zoo,_

_You look like a monkey,_

_And smell like one too!_

Katrina frowned. Danny was her friend most of the time, but sometimes he acted like too much of a boy and he made her mad. She pointed her finger at him. "You better not sing that song to me again, Daniel Thornhart!" she said, mimicking the tone she had heard Danny's mother use a time or two.

"Or what?"

"Or you won't ride my pony! That's what!" Katrina put her hands on her hips. That would show him!

"I've already rode your pony before!"

"Oh yeah? Well then I'll tell!"

"Well then I gotta another song for you. You wanna hear it?"

"Okay, but not that other song!"

Danny smiled. "It's a different one. I promise."

_Happy Birthday to you, _

_I went to the zoo, _

_I saw a big monkey, _

_And thought it was you!_

"I'm tellin'!"

"It's not the same song! It's a different one!"

"Mrs. Eve! Mrs. Eve!" Katrina ran to Eve, tugging at her dress. "Danny sang a monkey song to me!"

Eve looked down at her son, her face not happy. She knew exactly the song she was referring to. He had sung it all morning. "Daniel Thornhart, did you sing that birthday song to Katrina?"

"It's just a joke! I don't really mean it!"

"_Daniel_. Answer me."

"Yes," he said timidly.

"Yes _what_?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Danny, Katrina's your friend. You don't sing songs like that to your friends. It hurts their feelings."

"But it was only a joke."

"It doesn't matter. If someone's feelings are hurt, the joke is over. Now I think you owe someone an apology."

Danny looked at Katrina, a smile no longer on his face. "I'm sorry, Katrina. I won't ever sing it again."

"Okay. I forgive you. Just as long as you don't ever sing it again. You wanna go jump in the moonbounce with me?"

Danny looked up to his mother. "Can I?"

"Yes, you can go play. But when we get home, no video games for the rest of the evening."

"All right." Danny ran off, Katrina following him.

"I got you in trouble!" Katrina said with a laugh.

And it was that day that Danny learned an important lesson. Teasing Katrina was never a good idea.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rafe sat at the picnic table, watching Alison pace back and forth by the bushes. She had been on her cell for several minutes now, making call after call.

Alison ended her call, then marched back over to the table.

Rafe stood up, seeing the worry on her face. "What's the matter?"

"It's times like these that I really, really, _really_ wish you had your magic powers back! Just for like twenty minutes!"

"What's going on?"

"The magician called and had to cancel! He said he just found out that he has strep throat and he can't make it. You don't know any magic tricks, do you?"

"If I could make flowers and doves appear out of nowhere, believe me, I would."

"What are we going to do? Katrina's been asking for the last half hour when the magician is going to get here and I can't stall much longer! I've called every children's party act in town and of course they're all booked! What are we going to do?"

"Maybe I can help?" a voice said from behind them.

Rafe and Alison looked behind them, and to their surprise, they saw Ed, dressed from head to toe in a magician's costume.

"Ed! What are you doing here?" Rafe laughed.

"I heard you needed a magician. Why do you think I'm dressed like this? For fun?"

"Oh my gosh! Ed! I'm so happy to see you!" Alison said, running over to him and giving him a hug.

Ed laughed. "Well I couldn't let Katrina be disappointed by not having a magician! So I'm here. Well, let's stop wasting time. I've got a show to put on!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Alright, children! Gather 'round!" Ed announced as the children sat down for the show. "I'm Ed the Magician, and I know a lot of magic tricks! Who wants to see some magic?"

"Me! Me! Me!" The children all said, raising their hands.

Ed entertained them with simple tricks at first, like making rainbow of colored scarves appear from out of his pockets and flowers from out of his sleeves. The children laughed and clapped at each trick, wondering how he did it.

"And now, I'll need a volunteer. Who wants to help me with my next trick?"

At once, all of the children raised their hands, begging for him to pick them.

"How about the birthday girl?" Ed said, pointing to Katrina and giving her a smile.

Katrina hopped up from her seat and ran over to the table. She was so excited he had picked her to help him with his magic trick!

"Come stand right here, little lady," Ed said, motioning her to stand beside him. "How are you?"

"Fine," Katrina answered.

"Are you having a fun birthday?"

"Yes."

"Well good! Are you ready to help me with my trick?"

"Uh huh!"

Ed took off his black top hat, showing it to the children. "Does everyone see my hat?"

"Yes!"

"It's not just an ordinary hat. It's a _magic hat_."

Ed held the hat upside down. He held it in front of Katrina. "Is there anything in my hat?"

Katrina looked inside it. "No."

"Are you sure?"

Katrina looked again. "Nope, there's nothing in there."

Ed showed the children his empty hat. "She's right. There's nothing inside my hat." Ed reached into his pocket, taking out a black scarf. He covered the hat with it. "I covered my hat with my scarf. Now, will you look under the scarf and tell me if you see anything inside?"

Katrina lifted up the scarf, but saw nothing. "No."

Ed scratched his head. "Hmm," he said aloud. "Oh, I know what I forgot to do." He smiled at Katrina. "We forgot to say the magic word. Do you know what the magic word is?"

Katrina shook her head no.

"It's 'abracadabra'. Can you say that for me?"

"Abracadabra!"

"Look under the scarf again."

Katrina lifted the scarf, but again, saw nothing. "There's nothing in there."

"No? Oh! We forgot one more thing! How old are you?"

"I'm five years old!" Katrina answered happily.

"Five! That's the magic number then! What I want you to do, Katrina, is to move your hand in a circle over my hat five times. Like this." Ed demonstrated. "Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"Okay, let's all count with her," Ed said.

Katrina moved her hand in circles over the hat.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five."

"Now say the magic word!" Ed said.

"Abracadabra!" Katrina said.

"Look under the scarf."

Katrina lifted the scarf, and to her surprise, she saw a white bunny inside. "A bunny!"

"And that's what we call 'magic'!" Ed said with a laugh, picking up the small white bunny.

The children all hopped up from their seats, gathering around the bunny, all wanting to pet him.

"What's his name?" Danny asked.

"Charlie," Ed answered.

"How did he get into your hat?" Christina asked.

"Magic!"

"Is he a magic bunny like the Easter Bunny?" Katrina asked.

"You could say that," he said with a wink.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Afterwards, the children all flocked to the moonbounce again, except Katrina. She noticed her parents talking to "Ed the Magician". They were talking and laughing as if they knew each other. She decided to go over there to see what was up.

"Mommy! Daddy! Do you know the magician!"

Rafe picked up Katrina, putting her in his lap. "Yes, we do, Princess."

"I'm actually an old friend of your parents," Ed told her.

Katrina smiled. "How old are you? Are you like, a hundred?"

Ed rolled with laughter.

"Katrina," Alison warned.

"Princess, he means that he's known us a long time."

Ed continued to laugh. "Actually, I guess I am pretty old!" He winked at Katrina. "I've been wanting to meet you for a long time. I've heard a lot about you."

"Well you could have just come to our house. I was there."

Ed laughed. "Well, the thing is, I live kind of far away."

"Do you have to take a plane to get to your house?"

"Well...something like that."

"Hey! How do you do that trick with the bunny?"

"Oh, I can't tell you. A good magician never reveals his secrets."

"Well can you do it again? That bunny's so cute!"

"You mean, like this?" Ed reached into his hat and pulled out a small, white rabbit.

"Wow! I wanna hold him! I wanna hold him!"

Ed handed over the bunny and Katrina held him close to her. "Aww! Hi, bunny! Can I keep him?"

"Afraid the bunny has to stay with Ed, Princess."

"Because he has to keep him for his magic tricks?"

"Right."

Katrina looked up at Ed as she handed him back the rabbit. "Well tell him to tell the Easter Bunny that I said hello!"

Ed laughed. "Will do."

"Katrina! You can't catch us!" shouted a few of Katrina's friends, wanting her to play tag with them.

"Oh I gotta go! Hey, magician man, you can come visit us anytime! But we're moving into a new house soon so make sure you get the right one!"

"If I'm ever in town, I promise I'll drop by," Ed said with a smile.

"Okay. Bye!" Katrina hopped off her father's lap and ran to catch up with her friends.

"She's a beautiful little girl," Ed said, watching her run off.

"Thank you," Alison said.

"She wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, Ed," Rafe said.

"Oh I doubt that. I've told you before, and I'll tell you again. You and Alison found your way to each other. I had nothing to do with it. I may have given you a nudge, but you two would have ended up together no matter what I did."

"Well thanks just the same," Rafe said.

"You're welcome. Well, I really better get going."

"Oh no, can't you stay? You could have some cake!" Alison offered.

"I'd love to, but I really can't stay."

"We understand," Rafe said. "It was really good seeing you again, Ed."

"It was good seeing you too."

"And thanks for helping out with the party!" Alison added. "Katrina's invitation goes for me too. Come by anytime."

"I will. See you later."

With that, Ed walked away, slowing fading into thin air.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" Katrina ran to her mother, grinning from ear to ear.

"What sweetie?"

"Is it time for cake? Please say yes!"

Alison laughed. "Yes! It's time for cake!"

"Hey, where did the magician man go?"

"He had to go now."

"Oh too bad! He's gonna miss out on some _good_ cake!" Katrina said.

Alison laughed. "Well maybe we'll see him again one day."

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Make a wish, sweetie!" Alison said, watching as Katrina blew all of her candles out in one breath.

Everyone began to clap and cheer.

"What did you wish for, Princess?"

"Can't tell you! Or it won't come true!"

Rafe laughed.

Alison began to cut the cake and Livvie helped by passing it out.

"Mommy, I want the piece with the horsy's face!" Katrina said.

"Okay."

"I want some cake!" Charlotte shouted.

"You need to say 'please', Charlotte," her mother told her.

"I please want some cake!"

Livvie laughed, putting the plate in front of her and watching her stuff a forkful into her mouth. As she did, she managed to get a huge glob of white frosting all over her chin.

Katrina laughed. "Charlotte, you look like Santa Clause!"

Everyone agreed that the cake was delicious, and that Charlotte was the messiest eater.

As soon as Katrina finished her cake, there was only one more thing left to do. Something she had been _waiting_ to do ever since the party started, but her mother had said not until after the cake. And that was open presents!

"Oh please can I open my presents now? Please!"

"Don't you want to wait until everyone finishes eating their cake?"

"Well I finished eating mine! Please, Mommy?"

Alison looked to Rafe and smiled. "Okay, you can go open them."

"YAY!"

Katrina ran over to the picnic table with all of her presents on it. The other children gathered around, oooing and ahhing over each new toy Katrina unwrapped.

"Katrina, you forgot one!" Christina said, noticing a circular object loosely wrapped in tissue paper.

"Ooo! Let me see!"

"It's big! I think I know what it is!" Christina handed the present over to Katrina.

It didn't take long for Katrina to unwrap it. "A hula-hoop! Ooo!" Katrina stepped inside the pink hula-hoop, spinning it around a few times until it ultimately fell to the ground. She tried again, laughing as she tried to make it spin around longer.

"Let me show you!" Christina said, taking the hula-hoop and showing Katrina how.

Katrina loved all of her presents, but her absolute favorite present was the one she was about to get.

"Happy Birthday, Lil Spunky!"

Katrina turned around, her eyes widening as she saw Jamal walk over to her with a very cool pink bike!

"A bike! A bike! OOO!" Katrina hopped on, holding on to the handles. "It's so pretty!"

"She is a beauty! Check this out. You have a basket in the front so you can carry, well, whatever. You have the tassels for decoration on the bars. And the two wheels in the back are the training wheels. That way you don't have to worry about falling off."

"This is so cool! Thanks, Uncle J.!" Katrina wasted no time, giving the bike a test ride.

"You're welcome, Lil Spunky."

Katrina looked up at her parents and smiled. "This is the bestest birthday party ever!"

Rafe turned to Alison and smiled. "See? I told you she would love it? Didn't I?"

Alison smiled back at him. "Yes, you do."

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Well, I managed to find some room for all of Katrina's new toys in the garage," Rafe said, walking into the living room. "The ones that wouldn't fit in her closet at least."

"Shh," Alison said.

"What?"

"Come here," Alison whispered.

Rafe walked over to Alison and looked to where she was pointed. There was Katrina, fast asleep on the couch.

"Always a sign that she had a very exciting day," Rafe whispered.

"I went to the kitchen to clean things up and after a while, I noticed it had gotten awfully quiet. I came out to the living room and there she was. Look at her, Rafe. She's so beautiful. Our beautiful little girl."

"I can't believe she's five years old today. It seems like only yesterday I was holding her in my arms and she was just a little baby."

"I know. You remember the day she was born? I remember it was Easter Sunday."

"Yeah. And Kevin was dressed up in that big bunny costume."

Alison laughed. "Oh yeah! I remember that!"

"Alison?"

"Yeah?"

"How did she grow up so fast?"

Alison smiled. "Don't worry. You've still got a good thirteen years to go."

"They'll go quick. We should get her to bed." Rafe started towards her, but Alison took hold of his arm.

"Oh let me."

"Are you sure you can carry her? I don't want you to wear yourself out."

"She's not heavy for me," she said, carefully picking the sleeping child up. Katrina made a soft mumble and opened her eyes, but closed her eyes again as her mother carried her out of the room.

A while later, Alison came to the bedroom, seeing Rafe getting ready for bed.

"Is she still asleep?" Rafe asked.

"Yep. Do you know how hard it is to put a nightgown on a sleeping five-year-old?"

"I imagine it was very hard."

Alison laughed. "Well she's sleeping. I'm sure she'll stay that way for hours."

Rafe grinned. "Hours?"

"Uh huh." Alison flashed him a smile, knowing what was on his mind.

"Maybe we should go to bed too," Rafe said, pulling the bed covers down.

"Hmm, maybe," Alison said, sitting down on the bed.

Rafe grinned. "You do realize that when I say go to bed, I don't mean to sleep?"

Alison smiled back at him, and together, they fell on the bed, kissing each other.


	5. Chapter 5

**To my awians...**thanks so much for helping me brainstorm ideas for neighborhood names. You girls ROCK! I came up with something simple. At least I came up with _something _so I could finally post this darn thing LOL.

Oh okay and one more thing, I don't know anything about house buying but I really tried to learn it. I don't think I'll ever become a real estate agent though. Sounds like hard work to me LOL.

**Chapter 5**

The first chance they got, Rafe and Alison made an appointment with the real estate agent to see the house.

Kendra was more than happy to show them around. "As you can see, the exterior of the house is in excellent condition, and if you maintain the lawn, you'll keep this magnificent display of color in the spring."

"Ooo, Mommy! Come look!" Katrina hollered from the bushes by the porch.

"Looks like your daughter discovered the rose bush," Kendra said with a smile.

Alison walked over to the bush, amazed at all of the beautiful pink blooms. "I can't believe I didn't see these before!" She gave Rafe a smile. Could it have been more perfect?

"Me and Mommy love roses!" Katrina told Kendra happily. "It's our favorite flower because it's both of our middle names!"

"Well if we move in, baby, we can pick some roses for the house every morning."

Katrina smiled. She loved that idea!

"Shall we see the inside?" Kendra asked.

Rafe and Alison nodded, following Kendra up the steps.

"It's a very nice neighborhood," Kendra continued as she led them into the house. "It's pretty quiet. A lot of families live around here."

"We actually have some friends that live nearby," Alison mentioned.

"Oh, well that's perfect! It's nice to live close to your friends. This neighborhood is actually pretty close to everything, the hospital, the park, the river. Well, here is the living room, of course. It's very roomy."

Rafe surveyed the room, finally being able to see the inside of the house in the light.

"What do you think, Rafe?" Alison asked.

"So far, so good. Looks great."

"WOW!" Katrina ran into the house, amazed at all of the space. The lack of furniture barriers made it so tempting to run! She ran across the white carpet from one end of the room to the other.

"Katrina, don't run," Alison said.

"I'm just looking, Mommy!"

"You can explore, but don't run."

Kendra smiled. "She's adorable. Reminds me of my little girl. She just turned two."

"Ours just turned five," Alison said.

"Can I go upstairs?" Katrina begged.

"I'll go with her," Rafe said, following Katrina as she dashed up the staircase.

Alison turned to Kendra. "Could you tell me more about the features in the kitchen?"

"Of course. Follow me."

Upstairs, Katrina ran in and out of the rooms, quickly glancing at each one before running out to see the next. As she ran towards the end of the hall, she came across the master bedroom.

"Ooo! This room is BIG! I want this one!"

Rafe laughed as he walked into the room, scooping Katrina up into his arms. "Sorry Princess, but the big room is reserved for Mom and Dad."

"Oh man! No fair!"

Rafe laughed, setting her back down. "Well you know what?" he whispered.

"What?"

"The other rooms in this house...they're up for grabs! Go pick out the one you want."

Katrina's eyes grew wide. "I'm gonna go pick it right now!"

Rafe smiled, watching her run out into the hallway.

As Katrina looked around, so did Rafe. He peeked into the master bathroom, noticing how much bigger it was than theirs at home. Alison had failed to mention that it had a whirlpool tub too. Already he was envisioning some really romantic nights in that thing.

"Daddy! C'mere!"

Rafe headed out of the room, walking down the hallway to find Katrina. "Did you find your room, Princess?"

"Uh huh! This one!"

"Well this is a nice one! Look at that. You've even got shelves right here so you can put some toys."

"Yep! And a closet with foldy doors!"

Rafe laughed out loud. "'Foldy doors'?"

"Yeah! Like you and Mommy have in your room! They fold open. See?" Katrina demonstrated, opening and closing the accordion-styled doors.

"Well that's really cool."

"Let's show Mommy!"

Katrina ran out of the room, looking over the banister. "Mommy! Come upstairs! I wanna show you something!"

A few moments later, Alison headed upstairs.

"Come see, Mommy!" Katrina grabbed her hand, leading her to the bedroom she had chosen for herself. "I want this room! Daddy said I could have any room I wanted except the big room."

Alison laughed. "Well I think this is the perfect choice."

"And look at my closet doors! Aren't these cool? I want to paint my wall pink! Daddy said I could! When do we move in?"

Rafe laughed. "We have to buy the house first, Princess."

"Well when we do, this is my room. Oh, and come look, I picked out Gabe's room too!"

Katrina took her mother's hand again, showing her the room across the hall from hers. She looked up at her mother with a smile on her face. "Can this one be Gabe's room?"

Alison poked her head in. "I think this would make a great room for your little brother."

"He's just a baby, and he's not even born yet so I had to pick out his room for him," Katrina explained.

Alison laughed. "Well you did a good job picking out the rooms." Alison turned to Rafe. "So what do _you_ think of the rooms?"

"I think you failed to mention that the master bathroom has no ordinary tub."

Alison laughed. "I wanted you to be surprised!"

"I was surprised. And I love it."

"Oh good!"

Kendra completed the tour of the house, showing off all of the little details that hadn't been noticed before.

"So, what's the consensus? Is this what you had in mind?" Kendra asked with a smile.

Rafe and Alison looked at each other and smiled. The decision had already been made.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

That evening, Lucy invited Rafe, Alison, and Katrina over for dinner.

She had planned a big dinner for herself, Kevin, and the girls, but Kevin was called unexpectedly to the hospital to check on a patient, and Serena had decided to hang out with her friends instead.

Lucy and Christina couldn't possibly eat all of it themselves, so Rafe and Alison were more than happy to help them finish it off.

"Lucy, that was really good," Rafe said, pushing his plate away as he finished.

"Well good! I'm glad you enjoyed it!"

"We ought to come over for dinner more often," Alison said with a smile.

"Mom, can we go play now?" Christina asked.

"Sure. Why don't you girls go play some games?"

Christina looked to Katrina and smiled. "You wanna play Candyland?"

"Yeah!"

The girls got up from their seats and left the table in a hurry.

"So, is Katrina still excited about the baby?" Lucy asked with a smile, watching the girls run off.

"Oh yes!" Alison laughed. "It was the first thing she told Miss Laurie when I took her to daycare this morning. She ran up to her and said, 'Guess what! Guess what! Mommy has a baby growing in her belly!'"

Lucy laughed. "So, have you made any nursery decorating plans yet? I suppose you can turn that spare bedroom into a nursery for the little guy."

Rafe and Alison smiled at each other.

"Well, cousin, that's actually something we wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Lucy perked up. "Well, you know if you need any help, I'd be _more_ than happy to! How about baby blue walls for a baby boy?"

"That sounds great. Actually though, we were hoping you could help us with more than just the nursery," Rafe said.

"What's that?"

"We have a lot of packing to do," Alison said.

Lucy looked confused. "Packing? What are you packing?"

"Well...everything. We found a two-story house, Lucy, and we made an offer to the real estate agent this afternoon," Alison admitted.

"You're moving? When?"

"Soon. We want to have enough time to have things ready before the baby comes."

"That's great news! I'm so happy for you two! Where's the house?"

"It's in the Green Meadows neighborhood."

"Oh, that's not far away from Ian and Eve."

"Yeah, it's actually down the road from them."

"Lucy, we do hope you know how thankful we are that you let us stay in your house for so long," Rafe said, smiling.

"Well it worked out perfect. When I moved into that house, I didn't think Kevin and I would ever get back together. But then I didn't need it because we got back together, and the lighthouse has always been special to us. I was glad to let you two stay there. Although this news does make me a little sad though. This means I'll have to find new renters. You two were my favorite ones. I may not get so lucky next time. I might as well just sale it."

Rafe and Alison laughed.

"Well we'll miss the place," Alison said, taking Rafe's hand and giving it a little squeeze. "It has a lot of special memories for us."

Lucy smiled. "I'm sure it does."

"So you'll help us with the packing and moving, right?" Rafe asked.

"Of course! And decorating! Don't forget decorating! I'll call Don and he'll make all the arrangements! I need to see this place soon. We have a lot of work to do!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Rafe came home from work, he saw Alison sitting at the desk, talking on the phone. She silently waved at him, but she didn't look happy. He wondered what had made her so moody.

"I understand," Alison said into the phone. "Well, I'll need to discuss this with my husband. I'll call you back and let you know...Okay, thanks, Kendra."

Alison set the phone down.

"What's the matter?"

"The house we want is apparently very popular. Kendra said there were two more offers on it and they were both better than ours."

"Well then we just raise our offer, right?"

Alison looked up at him, a look of disappointment on her face. "Kendra advised us to offer this much." Alison handed him a paper, which she had written a figure on.

Rafe glanced at the paper, seeing the problem.

"We can't afford that, Rafe. It's too much. That's way over the limit we set. We might as well accept it. We lost the house. There's no way we could afford that."

Rafe took a seat at the edge of the desk, looking at the figure once more. "Yes we can."

"How, Rafe? I know I come from a family with money but that doesn't exactly mean Nana gives me an allowance anymore. I don't see how we could make a better offer."

Rafe sighed, looking into Alison's eyes. "We can if I sell my parent's house."

Alison's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while. It would definitely bring in a lot more money that we could put towards buying a new house."

"But Rafe, that's your family home! You can't sell Kovich Manor. That's like a part of your family history."

"Alison, my home is here in Port Charles now. My home is here with you and our children, not in Romania in a house that I haven't seen in years."

"But it has to be important to you, Rafe. Are you sure you'd want to sell it?"

"Of course it's important to me." Rafe smiled at her, taking her hand. "But what's more important is you and the kids. And regardless of it I sell it or not, we're going to need a bigger place. Our family is growing."

Alison smiled, placing a hand on her stomach. "Yes, it is."

"And if we're buying a house, we're going to need the money. And selling the house is a way we can get it. Sure I'll miss Kovich Manor. I have a lot of good memories there, but it's time to let it go. I haven't taken as much care of it as I should have. I should find someone who will."

"Okay. But won't you be sad that you'll never get to see it again?"

"Oh I'll get to see it again," Rafe said with a smile. "I'll have to go fix it up and clear it out if I'm going to sell it."

Alison's eyes lit up. "Oh that's great! I've always wanted to see where you grew up!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well of course I'm going with you."

"No. Out of the question," Rafe said firmly.

"What? Why?"

"Well, because. Isn't it obvious?"

She thought for a moment. "Vampires?" Alison asked hesitantly.

"No. I'm not worried about vampires. I'm worried about you flying in your condition."

"My 'condition'?"

"Well, yeah. Do you really think it's a good idea for you to be flying across the Atlantic when you're pregnant?"

"I'm not that far along, Rafe."

"I don't care how far along you are. It'd still make me nervous."

"Rafe! I'd be fine! Trust me! You know I wouldn't go if I thought it would hurt the baby. Look, we could all go! We could take Katrina with us and it could be a family vacation!"

Rafe thought about it, but Alison sensed his uneasiness about it.

"I don't know," he said.

"Okay. Look. I'll check with Dr. Meadows. If she says no, and that's it's not a good idea for me to be flying, then I won't go. Okay? No questions asked. But if she says yes, then honey, why not?"

Rafe considered it. "I have always wanted to teach Katrina about her Romanian roots."

Alison grinned widely. "Is that a yes?"

"It's a yes, but _only_ if Dr. Meadows okays it."

"Yes!" Alison squealed in delight, throwing her arms around him and giving him a smacking kiss on the cheek. "This is going to be so much fun! I can't wait!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

A loud crash of thunder startled Alison awake. She looked over at the window, watching the sky turn white with lightning as heavy rain pelted the glass.

She soon heard the pitter patter of little feet running down the hallway. Within seconds, the bedroom door opened and Katrina ran in.

"Mommy! I'm scared!" she whispered in a small, frightened voice.

Alison was used to this. Ever since Katrina could climb out of her crib, she'd come sleep in their bed during scary thunderstorms.

"It's okay, sweetie," Alison said softly. "Climb in."

Katrina climbed up on the bed, her teddy bear in hand, and slid under the covers between her parents.

Rafe turned over, suddenly realizing there was a third person in the room. "What's the matter?"

"She's just afraid of the storm."

Satisfied that nothing was seriously wrong, Rafe rolled back over to his side of the bed and fell back asleep.

Katrina nestled herself against her mother. She felt much better now.

"Bernie was afraid too, Mommy," she whispered, holding her bear close to her.

"Well you'll both be safe here," Alison promised.

"Mommy?"

"Mmm hmm?"

"Are the angels bowling upstairs?"

Alison laughed. "Where did you hear that from? Daddy?"

"One time it was thundering real bad and he said thunder was nothing to be scared of. It was just the angels in heaven bowling. And that they'd make lightning whenever they got a strike."

Alison laughed again. "Well it sure does sound like they're bowling."

"But it's still scary sounding."

"Well the storm will pass. Now go to sleep. It's late."

"Okay. Goodnight, Mommy."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Daddy." Katrina looked over to her father, but he only responded by snoring softly. Katrina giggled.

Just then, a bright streak of lightning lit up the sky. Katrina closed her eyes as tight as she could, trying to block out the light.

Alison touched her soft hair, then gave her forehead a kiss. And after a little while, her little girl was finally asleep again.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Rafe smiled as he watched them both sleep. He half remembered Katrina coming into their room at night. He knew at some point it had been storming so he supposed she must have been frightened.

Rafe leaned over and kissed Alison on her temple. He then whispered in her ear. "Good morning."

Alison mumbled in her sleep.

Rafe kissed her again. "Wake up."

Alison slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at Rafe and smiled. "I like sleep, you know."

"I'm sorry. But you just looked so beautiful. I had to kiss you."

Alison smiled. "You smell good."

Rafe laughed. "I just got out of the shower."

Alison propped herself up on her elbow, looking down at Katrina. She loved watching her sleep. She was definitely a very energetic child, a trait she was sure she had inherited somewhere from the Kovich family, mainly Lucy. But it was times like these where she was so quiet and peaceful, sleeping like she hadn't slept in a week, that she loved. And that trait, she was positive came from her.

Alison ran her hand along Katrina's head, smoothing her soft blonde hair.

"Guess we need to get her up and dressed soon," Rafe said. "Did you know she wanted to wear her pink tutu to daycare yesterday?"

"That's why you need to let me help her dress!" Alison laughed. "You didn't let her, did you?"

"No, of course not. Although she did make up a pretty convincing story about how you let her wear it to school sometimes."

Alison laughed. "She's thinking of dance class."

"Well she tried. So, shall we get her ready? If you want to get her dressed I'll give her a ride and you can get to work."

"Actually, I'm taking her to my grandmother's today."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Nana said she wanted to spend some time with her."

Just then, the phone rang.

"Oh, get that!" Alison said excitedly, pointing to the phone. "That might be about the house!"

Rafe answered the phone. "Hello?...Yes, this is him...Okay, thank you." Rafe then hung up.

"Well? Who was it? Was it Kendra? Was it about the house?"

"No. It was Dr. Meyer's office, reminding us of Katrina's dentist appointment on Monday."

"Oh."

Rafe noticed the disappointment on her face.

"She'll call us today, right?" Alison asked. "I mean, she said she'd get back to us by the end of the week. Well, it's the end of the week."

"I'm sure we'll hear from her soon."

Alison sighed. "I hope so."

"Mommy?" Katrina said softly, stretching out her little arms and yawning as her eyes struggled to open.

"Good morning, sweetie." Alison leaned down, giving her daughter a kiss.

"Good morning, Princess."

Katrina looked up and smiled at her father. "Daddy, you snored."

Alison laughed. "It wasn't that bad, don't worry," she said to Rafe, seeing the look of surprise on his face.

"Hey! Where's Bernie?" Katrina sat up, looking around for her bear.

Rafe noticed something under the sheets. Reaching under, he grabbed the bear and brought it out. Then, putting on his best "bear voice," he made it talk. "I'm right here!"

Katrina looked at the bear and laughed. "Bernie!"

"Good morning, Katrina!"

"Hey, Bernie!"

Rafe started to hum as hemoved the bear, making it appear that he was dancing.

Katrina laughed and laughed. "Bernie, you're so silly!" Katrina grabbed her bear, hugging him tightly.

Rafe laughed, kissing his daughter on her cheek before he stood up. "Well, who's hungry?"

"Me! Me! Me!" Katrina said.

"Alison?"

"Five more minutes," she replied.

Rafe laughed. "Well alright then, let's go see if we can find something in the kitchen!" Rafe scooped Katrina up in his arms, carrying her out of the room.

Alison rested her head back onto her pillow, stretching out her arms and legs. She smiled as she could hear Katrina and Rafe talking in the other room.

Then she looked over to the phone, hoping it would ring soon with good news.

xxxxxxx

"Keep your head up, Katrina!" Amanda called out as she watched a woman lead Katrina around the arena on her pony. "That's it! Wonderful, darling!"

"Nana?"

Amanda turned around, seeing Alison walking towards her.

"Hello, Alison."

"Gus said I'd find you out here."

"How are you, dear?"

"Fine. A little tired, but fine."

"And the baby?"

"He good," Alison said, patting her belly.

"Mommy!" Katrina called out, waving to her mother.

Alison waved back at her. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing to the woman. "You have new stable help?"

"Oh, that's Jessie Monroe. Wonderful young lady. She won the Rockford Equestrian Championship three times in a row. I've hired her to give Katrina private lessons," she announced proudly.

"Nana, what are you up to?"

"Well darling, if Katrina is going to compete in the New York Junior Equestrian Competition in two years, she'll need to be ready!"

Alison sighed. Somehow she had a feeling this would come up. "Nana, I want Katrina to ride horses because she loves them, not to win some competition. Besides, those things put all sorts of pressure on little kids. If she doesn't win, she'll be heartbroken and she'll never want to ride again."

"She won't be under any pressure!" Amanda insisted. "Why look at her! She's having fun. She wants to learn! And from the looks of things, she's a natural at it. The competition won't stand a chance!"

"I don't know."

Amanda turned to her granddaughter, frowning. "You want me to discontinue her lessons, don't you?"

"No. If she's having fun, I don't mind. And I do want her to properly learn how to ride a horse, because I want her to be safe. But the second she feels any pressure about competing, I'll pull her out so fast. I only want her to do what she feels comfortable doing. Alright, Nana?"

Amanda smiled. "Alright, dear. But I'm telling you, riding is in her blood! I won a couple of blue ribbons in my day. That was so long ago. I think I was fourteen."

"Mommy! Mommy!" Katrina came running to her mother, wrapping her arms around her, giving her legs a hug.

"Hey, baby. Well look at you! Where did you those clothes from?"

"Nana bought them for me!"

Alison turned to Amanda, giving her a suspicious look.

"Well, darling, she has to have proper riding clothes. You don't want her to dirty up her regular clothes now do you?"

"I suppose not. They do look cute on her."

Katrina heard Jessie walking toward them. She ran over to her, taking her hand and leading her over to where they stood. "Mommy, this is Jessie!"

"Hello," Jessie said, extending her hand to Alison. "You must be Alison."

"Yes, it's nice to meet you."

"You have a lovely daughter."

Alison smiled. "Thank you."

"Jessie says I have po, po, po..." Katrina looked up at Jessie for help.

"Potential," she said with a laugh.

"Potential!" Katrina said to her mother proudly. Then she looked up at Jessie, giving her a very confused look. "What's potential?"

"It means you're off to a great start!" Jessie said as she gave Katrina's nose a tap with her finger.

"Mommy, do we have to go now? Please can I stay longer? Please?"

"Five more minutes, okay? But then we got to go because Daddy is at home waiting for us and Mommy is getting really hungry."

Jessie gave Katrina a smile. "That's just enough time to go around one more time!"

"Yay! Let's go!" Katrina grabbed Jessie's hand, eager to ride around one more time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Daddy! We're home!" Katrina announced, bursting into the front door and running into the living room.

Rafe walked out into the room, smiling. "Hello, Princess!" Rafe bent down, giving her a kiss on top of her head as she raced to her bedroom.

Alison trailed behind, closing the front door as she walked into the house.

"I'm so glad you're home!" Rafe said.

Alison gave him a smile. "Me too." She walked over to him, greeting him with a soft kiss. She then looked up at Rafe, giving him a suspicious look. "Do I smell smoke?"

"Oh, I burnt dinner," Rafe announced, in a strangely happy mood.

Alison's voice rose sharply. "What?"

"Don't worry, it's okay."

Alison's temper changed drastically. "Rafe! I asked you to do ONE simple thing! Just ONE! How hard is cooking dinner? I told you I'd be STARVING by the time I got home and you burnt it!"

"I got distracted by a phone call."

"That's no excuse! I cook and talk on the phone all the time!"

Rafe started to laugh. He had no idea that Alison would be so angry over dinner. Who could ever predict the current mood of a pregnant woman? But he knew she wouldn't be angry for long.

"What are you laughing so hard about?" she demanded.

"I was just thinking of how if you could just give me a minute to explain, you wouldn't be so upset."

"Well? I'm listening."

"Yes, I burnt dinner. And I'm sorry. It was my fault. I was distracted by the phone. But I thought instead, we could go out for dinner. We have some celebrating to do."

"What are we celebrating?"

Rafe grinned widely. "How about our new house?"

"Our new what?"

"Our new house! Kendra called. She said our offer was accepted! The house is ours!"

"Oh my god! Really!" Alison smile retuned. She'd already forgotten about dinner.

"Yes! Really! It's all ours!"

Rafe laughed as Alison ran into his arms, kissing and hugging him in her excitement.

"When can we move in?" Alison asked.

"As soon as you want to move in!"

"I want to move in as soon as possible!"

"Then soon it is!" Rafe laughed, kissing her once again.

"Hey! I'm huuuuuunnnggrrry!" Katrina called out.

Rafe and Alison stopped kissing and looked at Katrina.

Rafe gave her a smile. "Go put your shoes back on, Princess. We're going out tonight!"

"Alright!" she cheered, running back to her room.

"Now, where were we?" Rafe asked, turning his attention back to Alison.

Alison laughed and then kissed him again.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** This chapter totally came out of nowhere. It wasn't something I planned on writing but an idea from the last chapter made me think...hmm, I think I'll write about that! lol!

enjoy!

**Chapter 7**

Katrina recognized the familiar white brick building as they turned into the parking lot. Oh how she hated this place! But especially today. Maybe Daddy would change his mind and say she didn't have to go.

Rafe pulled into the parking space and turned off the car. He looked up in the rearview mirror, checking on Katrina. She had been quiet the whole time, which was very uncharacteristic of her.

But he knew the reason for her mood, and he couldn't blame the kid.

Today was the day of the dreaded dentist appointment.

"Come on, Princess. Time to go."

"No, Daddy! I don't wanna!"

Rafe got out of the car, closing his door and opening the back. "I know you don't, but you have to."

Katrina unbuckled her seatbelt and reluctantly climbed out of the car. She held onto her bear tightly.

Once Katrina was on the ground, Rafe closed the door and took her hand. He led her up the sidewalk to the steps of the building.

It was then that the waterworks began.

"No, Daddy! No! Please don't make me go!" Katrina cried, grabbing the railing and refusing to let go. She didn't even care that her bear fell to the ground.

"Princess, you've got to go."

"No, Daddy! Let's go home!"

Rafe gently gave her arm a little tug, urging her to move along, but that only made her grab the rail tighter. Apparently, he was going to have to drag her in kicking and screaming, literally.

"Katrina, come on, let's go."

"NO!" Katrina just cried louder, making a scene. "NO! NO! NO! I don't want to go the dentist! Please, Daddy!"

Rafe tried to ignore the stares from the couple walking past them.

Finally, Rafe realized that he was going to get nowhere by begging her to go. Obviously she didn't want to go. It wasn't that she was misbehaving...she was simply terrified.

Rafe knelt down, hating to see tears fall from such pretty eyes.

"Calm down. You're okay. You know Daddy's not going to let anyone hurt you, right?"

Katrina looked at her father, sniffling.

"Tell me why you're so afraid."

"I don't want the dentist pulling out my tooth!" she sobbed.

"He's not going to pull out your tooth, Princess. He's just going to give you a filling. That's something that will protect your tooth."

"But Christina said when she went to the dentist, he pulled out her tooth!"

"No, that was different. Christina's tooth was ready to come out anyway. It just needed to be removed to make room for her other teeth. But the dentist is not going to pull out your tooth. Alright?"

"Can't we just go home?" Katrina sobbed.

"And risk that pretty smile of yours being ruined? No way! You've got to go to the dentist. Just like you've got to go to the doctor. Now, where's that brave little girl of mine?"

"You won't leave me, will you Daddy? Like the time they left me all alone in that room with the scary x-ray machine!"

"I won't leave you. I promise. Now come on, you're a big girl. Let's go in and show them how brave you are." Rafe gave her a smile, picking up Bernie the bear and handing him back to her.

Katrina let go of the rail and took her father's hand. She walked in with her father, but despite what he said, she didn't feel so brave.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina rested her head against her father, her tears finally dry but her face still somber.

Rafe tried to distract her, reading the jokes from the _Highlights_ magazine to her, but she wasn't interested.

"Katrina Kovich," said the dental hygienist, peering into the waiting room.

"Well, that's you," Rafe said, standing up. "Come on. Grab Bernie."

Katrina picked up her bear and reluctantly took her father's hand. They walked over to the woman wearing the strange white shirt with smiley tooth faces all over it.

"Hi, Katrina!" the woman said, giving her a big smile. "Do you remember me? My name is Denise."

Katrina looked at her briefly and then hid behind her father.

"She's usually more talkative," Rafe whispered.

"It's understandable." Denise knelt down in front of Katrina. "Katrina, I know you're a little scared, but I promise we'll take good care of you here, okay? And your daddy will be with you the whole time."

Katrina remained silent, bringing her bear up to her chin and holding him tighter.

"Who's your friend?" Denise asked.

"Bernie," Katrina said in a soft voice.

"Well Bernie can come along too! Maybe we'll check out his teeth! What do you say?"

Katrina shook her head okay.

"Alright, follow me." Denise led the way through the maze of hallways into a room in the back.

"Well, pretty girl, if you'll have a seat in this big chair right here, we'll get started. The sooner we start, the sooner it'll all be over with."

Katrina froze, staring at the big brown chair with fear. In her mind, the chair had a face. A big ugly face with mean eyes and big teeth.

"Come on, Katrina!" it said to her. "Come sit down so we can pull out all of your teeth! HA HA HA HA HA!" The arm of the chair picked up a drill, and the face continued to laugh at her.

"No!" Katrina said, hiding behind her father again.

"Katrina, we already talked about this," Rafe said. "No one is going to hurt you. Now you can go sit in the chair or I'll put you in there myself."

Katrina shook her head no.

"Katrina," Rafe warned.

"I'm scared of the chair! It's gonna pull out all of my teeth!"

"No one is going to pull out your teeth."

"I have an idea," Denise spoke up. "Maybe Daddy can try out the chair first and make sure it's safe."

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Rafe sat in the chair. He looked at Katrina and smiled. "See? It's not a big deal. It's actually a pretty comfortable chair. I could fall asleep in this thing!"

"Believe it or not, some patients actually have," Denise laughed.

"Come on, Princess. You try it out now. You've been in this chair before. It's no different."

Katrina was less worried about the chair now, but as she looked over at table beside it, her fears were renewed.

"No, she's gonna use the hook! It'll stick me!" she cried, pointing to the dentist's tools.

"The hook?"

"You mean this thing?" Denise asked, holding up her exploring instrument. "Oh it might look scary, but it's quite harmless. This is my special tooth inspector."

"Special tooth inspector?" Katrina asked curiously.

"Yep! It's helps me look for cavities. I don't 'stick' patients with it, I promise."

"Test it out on Daddy first!" Katrina said.

"Do you mind, Mr. Kovich?" Denise asked.

"Of course not. Inspect away," he said with a laugh. He'd do anything to show Katrina that there wasn't that much to be afraid of.

Denise adjusted the chair and turned on the overhead lamp. Taking her "special tooth inspector", she began to look in Rafe's mouth.

"What do you see?" Katrina asked, standing on the tip of her toes, trying to see for herself.

"I see a lot of teeth," Denise said as she continued to look around. "You know, Mr. Kovich, we had a cancellation this morning. We could probably fit you into our schedule today."

"Oh that's not necessary. I'm not due for a cleaning for another couple of months."

"I wasn't talking about a cleaning, Mr. Kovich. It looks like you have a cavity too."

"What?"

"Daddy has one too?" Katrina asked, surprised that parents got cavities!

"That's impossible! I've never had a cavity in my life!"

"Well there's a first time for everything, Mr. Kovich," Denise said.

"How are we doing today?" Dr. Meyer asked as he walked into the room.

"Daddy has a cavity!" Katrina announced.

"Oh he does, huh? Hmm, now I thought I was going to be working on you today, little lady."

"Actually, looks like you'll be working on both of them, Dr. Meyer," Denise said with a laugh. "Can you come check out number 30?"

"I don't really have a cavity do I?" Rafe mumbled with the hygienist's tool still in his mouth.

"Let me see," Dr. Meyer said, putting on his gloves and taking a look. "Yep, I'd say that looks like a new cavity forming. Better do something about that now before it gets worse."

"I have a cavity?" Rafe mumbled.

"We have a cancellation this morning, Mr. Kovich. Would you like for us to go ahead and take care of this now?"

"Oh that'll be perfect!" Denise interrupted. "Daddy will go first and then Katrina will see that there's nothing to it!"

"Yeah! Daddy's gonna get it done too!"

"Well, Mr. Kovich?" Dr. Meyer asked.

"I guess I have no choice."

"Wonderful! Well let's get things set up and get started!"

Rafe grew anxious as he looked at the assortment of tools lying on the table. He dreaded this in the worst possible way. He had no idea when he took Katrina to the dentist this morning that he'd end up being a patient too.

But then, he looked at Katrina. She sat in the chair against the wall, watching everything. He didn't want to show his fear. He had to be brave for her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm home," Alison announced, walking into the door with a bag of groceries. "Rafe? Katrina?"

"Mommy! Mommy!" Katrina ran into the room, excited because she couldn't wait to show her mother all of her cool new things.

"Hey, sweetie!" Alison leaned down, taking hold of Katrina's face and giving her a kiss. "How did things go at the dentist today? Were you a big girl for Daddy?"

"I was scared at first but then Daddy got it done and he was okay so I knew I'd be okay too!"

"Daddy got it done? What do you mean?"

"I had a cavity," Rafe announced, walking into the room.

"Oh no! You didn't!"

"Never had a cavity in my life until I married a woman with a sweet tooth who opened up a bakery."

Alison laughed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Your cookies are delicious." Rafe walked over to her, greeting her with a kiss. "Oh, it's so good to feel my mouth again! I thought that Novocain would never wear off!"

"Look, Mommy! I got some cool things from the dentist!"

"Oh you did? What kinds of goodies did you get?"

Katrina opened up her little plastic bag, taking each item out one at a time. "I got some dental gum. It's yummy! I had a piece already! And I got some floss. It's cinnamon; that tastes good too! And look, a brand new toothbrush! It's pink! And it's sparkly! And I got a sticker too! See?" Katrina pointed to the tooth sticker on her shirt.

"Alright! Sounds like you got a lot of neat stuff!" Alison turned to Rafe. "What did you get?"

Rafe frowned. "I didn't get anything. Except a bill."

Alison laughed. "Aww, honey!" Alison wrapped her arms around him, giving him a smile. "Then I'll have make sure you get something special," she said in a soft tone.

Rafe smiled. He liked the sound of that. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Well..." Alison said as she moved in to kiss him.

Katrina's attention turned away from her sparkling pink toothbrush and she looked up at her parents. "You can get him a toothbrush, Mommy! One that's glittery like mine!"

Rafe and Alison both laughed.

Alison looked at Katrina and smiled. "What a good idea, sweetie. Daddy could probably use a new toothbrush. Well, let's get dinner started."

"I'll help set the table!" Katrina announced, running to the kitchen.

"A toothbrush? That's what I get?" Rafe asked.

Alison turned to Rafe and smiled. "I guess you'll have to wait until tonight to see." Alison smiled and gave him a wink as she left the room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Rafe watched Alison from the doorway. She stood in front of the full-length mirror, running her hands over her rounded stomach. Rafe thought she looked bigger than the day before, but he wasn't about to say anything about it for fear she would take it the wrong way.

"You look beautiful," Rafe said.

Alison turned to Rafe, just realizing he was standing there. "Thank you."

"Are you wearing that for me?" Rafe asked with a grin, commenting on the black negligee she wore.

"I'd wear it for no one else," she said, flashing him a smile. "Aren't you going to close the door?"

"I was thinking about it." Rafe closed the door, then locked it.

Alison walked over to Rafe, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Did you check on Katrina?"

"She's asleep."

Alison began to undo the buttons on Rafe's shirt. "Good. We better get started." Alison gave him a grin as she took his hand, leading him over to the bed.

"Well we've got plenty of time," Rafe said. "You know she'll be out for hours."

"But it won't be that way for too much longer. Once the baby comes he'll be awake every two hours and no one will get any sleep. Don't you remember how it was with Katrina? It felt like we were always in a rush."

Rafe laughed. "Yeah. That was never easy."

"So we better get used to it." Alison sat down on the bed, pulling Rafe down with her.

Rafe struggled with the last few buttons of his shirt, then slipping it off as he claimed her lips once again.

Rafe rested his hand on her hip, then slowly running his fingers against the length of her side until he touched her neck. His lips left her mouth as he moved to kiss the soft spot above her shoulder.

"Oh!" Alison suddenly moaned.

"Shh!" Rafe laughed. "You have to be quiet. You want to wake her up?"

Alison suddenly sat up, starting to laugh to herself.

The moment was obviously gone. Rafe looked at her, confused. "What's so funny?"

Alison gave Rafe a smile. "I think we already did wake someone up."

"What do you mean?"

"Gabriel's kicking me."

Rafe's eyes widened with excitement. "He's kicking?"

"Yes! Feel!"

Rafe placed his hands on her stomach, suddenly feeling the life inside of her make his presence known. He couldn't help but laugh. "That's amazing! Hey there, buddy!" Rafe said to Alison's stomach, hoping he could hear him.

Alison was in awe. "Wow. That's the first time I've felt him move! It's all so real now."

"He's most definitely a Kovich. That kick is strong," Rafe said with a laugh.

Moments later, the strong kicks they each had felt slowly turned into little thumps, and then he was done.

"I suppose he's comfortable now," Alison said. "So, where were we?" Alison moved closer to Rafe, placing her lips on his.

Rafe gently pulled away. "I'm not so sure we should do this right now."

"Not do what? Make love?"

"Well...yeah."

"I don't understand."

"Well, Angel, the kid's awake. Don't you think he's going to wonder what's going on?"

Alison began to laugh. "Oh, Rafe!"

"What? I'm serious! I mean he's just laying there, playing, and all of sudden...well you know! Wouldn't that scare you?"

Alison laughed even harder. "Rafe, I'm pretty sure it's dark in there! He can't see a thing!"

"Well sure, he's not going to be able to see but he'll certainly be aware of something!"

"Rafe, he's a fetus! He's not going to know what's going on! I promise! He's probably going to sleep!" Alison tried to stop laughing. "Come on, haven't we had this conversation before? I want you to make love to me. Now, you do want to make love to me, right?"

Rafe gave her a smile. "Of course I do. Why would you ask such a silly question?"

"I was just checking," Alison said, moving closer to Rafe. "Now, can we start again?"

Rafe wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. "With pleasure."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Now, Dolly, you eat your peas and carrots. They're good for you! Bernie, you make sure she does it. And no playing with your food! I'm gonna go wash the dishes and when I come back, I want to see a clean plate! Or no TV! Got it?"

Alison smiled as she watched her daughter playing in her room. "Hi, baby. Playing house?"

"Yeah. It's lunchtime. Hey, what's the box for?"

Alison put down the box she was holding on the floor. "Daddy brought them. We'll need lots of boxes to pack all of our things for the move. I thought I'd help you pack up your closet."

Alison started towards the closet, but Katrina suddenly ran in front of her. She stood in front of the door, blocking its entrance.

"No, Mommy! Don't go in there!"

"Why not?"

"Um, because there's a monster in there!"

"A monster?"

"Yeah! A really big and ugly one! You don't want to see him!"

"Well I'm not scared of any monsters." Alison started towards the door, but Katrina wouldn't budge.

"No, Mommy! He'll eat you if you let him out!"

Alison gave her daughter a suspicious look. "You know, I'm beginning to think that you're telling me a story. I don't think there's a monster in your closet. I think you're making it up because there's something in there that you don't want me to see."

"I don't want you to see the monster! You better not wake him up now because he'll be really grumpy if you disturb him!"

"Katrina, that's enough. Now move aside so I can get to your closet."

Katrina reluctantly moved away, watching as her mother turned the doorknob and opened the door.

When the door was finally open, what seemed like hundreds of toys spilled out onto the floor.

"Uh oh," Katrina said softly.

"Oh dear, Katrina Rose!"

"I told you not to open it!"

Alison looked down at all of the toys around her ankles. "Katrina, what are all of these toys doing in here like this? When I told you to put away your toys, I didn't mean stuff them all in the closet like this. I meant for you to put them away neatly."

"I try to, Mommy."

"Well how about putting these in your toy box then?"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Cause they won't fit!" Katrina pointed to her toy chest, filled to the brim with toys. The lid wouldn't even completely close because it was so stuffed with toys.

Alison looked at the toy box, then to the toys on the floor, and back again to her daughter. "I think we have a big problem."

"Yeah, you're telling me! I think I'm gonna need a bigger toy box!"

"No, sweetie. I'm afraid we're going to have to get rid of some of these toys."

Katrina looked up at her mother with a confused expression. "Get rid of them?"

"I didn't realize you had so many. I don't think we can pack all of these. We'll have to give some of them away."

"No, Mommy! You can't give them away!" Katrina immediately got to the floor, grabbing a handful of stuffed animals and Barbie dolls. "We can pack them! We just need a big box!"

"Sweetie, we have no choice. These are just way too many toys for us to pack."

"We can pack them!"

"It'll make an awful lot of clutter. We can't bring all of them."

Katrina looked at her mother again, this time with sad eyes. "Was I bad? Is that why my toys are gonna be taken away?"

"Oh no, sweetie. No, of course not!" Alison had been so preoccupied with the clutter problem that the thought of Katrina thinking she was being punished hadn't even crossed her mind. She suddenly felt bad for raising her voice when she saw the mess. The kid couldn't help it. She had too many toys and no place to put them. "Come here, sit down."

Alison sat down on the bed and patted the space beside her. Katrina joined her.

"Katrina, you're not bad. You are a very sweet little girl. And you know what?"

"What?"

"You're also really lucky. Did you know that?"

"Because I got a lot of toys?"

"Well, that's not the only reason. Let me tell you something. Did you know that the are some children in this world, some children who live right here in Port Charles, and they don't have any toys?"

"No toys!" Katrina's eyes widened with surprise. She couldn't imagine a world without toys!

"Well they may have a few toys, but not many. And I'm sure they probably have to share with their brothers and sisters."

"Miss Laurie makes us share the toys, but that's not always fun. Because sometimes I like to play with the baby doll with blonde hair, but then Chelsea comes and takes it away and Miss Laurie says I have to share it. But there's only one doll with blonde hair and she hogs it!"

"Well that's probably what it's like for a lot of kids with only a few toys. They have to take turns playing with them."

"Mommy, doesn't Santa Claus bring them any toys?"

"He brings them what he can. But sometimes toys come last, because maybe they need food or clothes more. Toys cost money, and if they their mommies and daddies don't have a lot of money, they can't spend it on a lot of toys for their children."

"Daddy says when people don't have a lot, you should help them."

"That's right. How would you like to help those kids?"

"How?"

"I was thinking, since you already have so many toys, maybe you could give some of them to the kids who don't have any."

"I don't have to give them my dollhouse, do I?

"No. You wouldn't have to give away the toys you play with everyday. I wouldn't make you give away your dollhouse or Bernie or your dolls or any of that. Just the toys that you don't play with anymore or the ones you just don't want to keep." Alison looked to the floor, picking up something she hadn't seen in ages. "Like this teletubby. Do you play with this anymore?"

Katrina shook her head no. "I don't like teletubbies anymore! That's for babies!"

Alison laughed. "You see? I knew you had some toys you'd be willing to part with! How about we get two big boxes. In one box, we'll put all the toys that you want to keep. And in the other box, we'll put all the toys you want to give away."

"Okay!"

"Rafe!" Alison called out.

"Yeah?" he answered from the other room.

"Can you bring us another box? A big one!"

Moments later, Rafe walked in with the extra box. He surveyed the heap of toys on the floor. "I can see why you need the extra box," he said with a laugh.

"I'm giving away some of my toys, Daddy!" Katrina said proudly.

"You are?"

"Yeah. Mommy says some kids don't have toys and I have too many so I'm gonna give some toys to them so they'll have something to play with too!"

Rafe smiled at his daughter, sitting down on the bed beside her. "Well I think that's a great idea, Princess! And that's a very good thing for you to do."

"I'm gonna put all of the toys I don't want anymore in one box and the toys I want to keep in the other. And the toys I don't want are the ones I'll give away."

"Well I tell you what. If you get that box of toys together, I'll take them to the youth center and see if I can find some kids that would want them."

"Okay! I'm gonna start now!" Katrina hopped off the bed and got down on the floor. The first thing she grabbed was the teletubby. "Bye, Laa--Laa!" she said as she threw it into the box.

Rafe couldn't help but laugh. He was glad to see the teletubby go.

"Hey, Mommy! What about this?" Katrina picked up a soft stuffed elephant that played lullaby music when you pressed its belly.

"Oh wow, I remember that. You've have that for a long time."

"I don't want this anymore. It's sort of a baby toy. But maybe Gabe will want it! Can we keep it for Gabe? He'll need some toys too!"

Alison smiled. "That's a wonderful idea. We'll put aside some toys that you want to give to your brother."

Katrina smiled. She liked that idea. Then she happily went back to sorting through her toys.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Another random chapter.

**Chapter 9**

"So, how soon are you moving?" Livvie asked as she put a tray of blueberry muffins into the display case.

"In about two weeks. We need to have enough time to get things packed and ready for the move."

Livvie walked over to Alison and took a look at the pink trim of icing she was putting around a white frosted cake. "Mmm, that looks good."

"Thank you."

"Well I can't wait to see the house. I know I've drove past it like a hundred times but I've never really _seen_ it, you know?"

"It's just perfect, really. There's so much room."

"Jack and I decided that if we ever need a bigger place, we'll just add on to the house. We couldn't imagine living anywhere else that wasn't near the river."

"Well I can't blame you for that. And hey, I'll be able to walk to your house once we move!"

"I know!"

The phone then rang, and Livvie grabbed it since she was closer. "Alison's Heavenly Delights….Yes, she is. Who's calling?…Hold on." Livvie turned to Alison, handing over the phone. "It's Katrina's daycare."

Alison took the phone, worried with all of the possibilities running through her mind. Usually they only called whenever there was a problem.

"Hello?…Hey, Laurie. What's going on?…Oh no…I'll be right there to pick her up. Tell her Mommy's on her way….Thanks for calling….Bye."

"What's wrong?"

"Katrina's sick. I got to go pick her up."

"Oh, go ahead. I'll finish this up for you."

"Thanks so much, Livvie. If you could, just write 'Happy Birthday, Janet' on it and make some balloons. It doesn't matter what color of icing. Someone is supposed to pick that cake up later today."

"Sure. No problem. Go take care of your little girl."

"I will. Thanks, sweetie!"

"Bye."

xxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina hated being sick. But she especially hated being sick here. If you were sick at school, then everyone else knew, and that was embarrassing. She thought back to earlier when she threw up, and how Chelsea made sure to tell everyone in the room.

_Eww! Katrina threw up! She threw up all over the floor! Oh gross!_

Every time the door opened, Katrina looked up hopefully, only to be disappointed when it wasn't Mommy.

Miss Laurie walked over to the beanbag Katrina rested on. "Katrina, would you like something to drink? Some juice? Or some water?"

"I want my mommy!" she sobbed.

"Your mommy will be here soon. Would you like for me to stay with you until she gets here?"

Katrina shook her head.

"Alice, you can take the other children outside," Laurie said to the assistant. "I'll stay with Katrina until her mother arrives."

Katrina watched as the other children formed a line and went outside to the playground. Normally she'd be upset that she was missing her playtime, but she was so sick and wanted her mother so bad that she didn't care.

"When's Mommy gonna be here?" Katrina asked.

"Soon. Very soon," Laurie said in a soothing tone.

Katrina didn't have to wait too much longer, because as soon as all of the children were outside, she saw her mother walking in.

"Mommy!" she cried.

"Hey, sweetie, I'm here! I'm here, baby." Alison knelt down, pulling her daughter into her arms.

"I wanna go home!"

"We're going home." Alison rose to her feet, picking up Katrina and letting her rest her head on her shoulder. "Laurie, thanks for calling me."

"You're welcome. Katrina, I hope you get to feeling better soon."

"Bye, Laurie," Alison said.

"Bye."

Katrina waved to her teacher, then closed her eyes. She held on to her mother tightly. If anyone could make her feel better, it was Mommy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alison looked over to the couch where Katrina slept. The blanket covering her had fallen to the floor. She picked it up and covered up the child again.

Just then, she heard the door open and looked up as Rafe walked in.

"Hey, I'm so glad you're home."

"I got home as soon as I could. I stopped by the pharmacy and picked up some more children's upset stomach medicine in case we needed it."

"Oh good. We were almost out."

Rafe knelt down beside Katrina, stroking her head gently. "How's she doing?"

"She threw up again when we got home but that was a few hours ago and she's been sleeping since."

"Did you call Dr. Burke?"

"Yeah. He said it's probably just one of those 24-hour bugs but that if she gets worse or if she isn't better by morning, bring her in. He wants us to make sure she stays hydrated, too. I should have known she wasn't feeling good when she hardly touched her breakfast this morning. Yet I rushed her to school anyway."

"No, don't blame yourself. She looked fine to me, just a little tired I thought."

"Daddy?" Katrina said in a very low voice as she looked up at her father.

"Hey there, Princess. I heard you weren't feeling too good."

"I threw up."

"I know. But I think you'll feel better soon. Just rest, okay? Oh, and I bought something for you." Rafe held up a plastic bag, and he reached inside to take out something. "When I was in the store, I saw some puzzles for only a dollar. I got this one for you. Look, it's the _Little Mermaid_, your favorite."

Katrina looked on with curiosity, but felt too weak to show any excitement.

"I know you're feeling too sick to play with it now, but when you feel all better, it'll be right here, okay?"

"Okay."

"Get some sleep, alright? I want me little angel to be feeling better soon." Rafe kissed Katrina on her forehead, stroking her head as she closed her eyes again.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning, Rafe heard the familiar sounds of cartoons as he walked into the living room. With relief, he saw Katrina on the couch, happily eating a cup of yogurt and laughing at the TV.

"Hey, Princess!"

"Hey, Daddy! Look!" Katrina dipped her spoon into her yogurt and spooned out a glob of it, then spread it all over her mouth. "I got pink lipstick!"

Rafe laughed, rubbing the top of her head. "Now I know you're feeling better!"

"Drink your juice, Katrina," Alison said as she walked into the living room and began picking up a few toys on the floor.

"Looks like she's back to her old self," Rafe said with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm so relieved. I spent the whole night worrying about her."

"I know. You tossed and turned all night." Rafe kissed her softly on the forehead.

"Mommy, can I stay home today?"

"Well…you are feeling much better, but yeah, I want you to stay home today. Just in case."

"Yay!"

"Katrina, how in the world do you manage to make such a mess with yogurt?" Alison laughed as she took a napkin and wiped her mouth.

"Do you need me to stay with her? Because I can always go later," Rafe asked.

"Oh no, that's fine. I'll stay. Livvie's watching the bakery for me."

"Alright. Well in that case, I'm going to head on out and get some work done."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

"Love you," Rafe said and then kissed her. "Call me if you need me."

"I will."

"Princess?"

"What, Daddy?"

Rafe sat down on the couch beside her. "I'm going to work now. I'm so glad you're feeling better! You take it easy now, okay? Do everything your mother says, and don't argue about taking a nap." He leaned forward, giving her a kiss on his cheek.

"Okay, Daddy. I'm gonna watch cartoons all day!"

"I love you, Princess."

"Love you too, Daddy!"

Rafe smiled. He was so glad Katrina was feeling like herself again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Katrina's eyes shot open. It was finally morning!

"It's moving day!" she said happily.

Katrina threw the covers off of her and hopped out of bed. She started towards the door, then realized something had fallen off the bed. She looked back, seeing her bear face down on the floor.

She picked up the bear and looked straight into his face. "It's moving day, Bernie!" Katrina then tossed the bear on her pillow and ran to the door.

As she ran down the hallway towards the kitchen, she could smell the familiar aroma of coffee. That meant Mommy and Daddy were awake!

"It's moving day! It's moving day!" Katrina shouted, running into the kitchen.

"Yes it is!" Rafe said, scooping Katrina up into his arms and kissing her on the cheek. "Good morning, Princess!"

"When do we go?" Katrina asked.

Rafe laughed. "First things first. It's breakfast time for you." Rafe plopped her down in a chair at the table.

"I'm not hungry!"

"Well you have to eat! If you don't have breakfast, you won't have any energy for the big move today."

Katrina thought about it. "Well, on second thought, I am a _little_ hungry!"

Rafe put a couple of pancakes on her plate. "That's my girl."

"I want bacon too!"

"May I _please_ have some bacon?" Alison said, walking into the kitchen and correcting her daughter.

"May I please have some bacon?" she asked politely.

"Yes you may." Rafe put a few slices next to her pancakes.

"Mommy, you're dressed already!"

Alison laughed. "I woke up early. Good morning." Alison gave Katrina a quick kiss on the cheek before she managed to get her face all syrupy.

"When will the moving men be here?"

Rafe brought a cup of coffee to the table and sat down beside her. "You ask a lot of questions. It's going to be hard to eat with all of that talking going on."

"She's just excited, Rafe," Alison said, laughing softly.

"They'll be here soon. Probably after you finish eating," Rafe answered her.

"Oh boy!" Katrina cheered, taking a big bite of her pancakes.

xxxxxxxxxx

Katrina wandered into the house, heading to her room. She was surprised to see that most of her things were gone, with the exception of her bed, which was bare with no covers or sheets.

"Hello, little lady," one of the moving men said as he and his coworker walked into her room. They were about to move the bed.

"Hi."

"You might want to move aside there, little miss. Wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"How are you going to pick that up? It's heavy!"

"We take it apart first," the first man explained, taking one side of the mattress as his partner took the other.

"Wow. You're strong!" Katrina was amazed to see them carry the mattress out of the room with hardly any effort. She followed them outside.

"One time, I was helping my Daddy move some boxes at his work, and there was this one box that I thought I could pick up, but it was so heavy that I dropped it and everything fell out! We could have used you then!"

One of men laughed.

Katrina watched as they loaded the mattress into the moving truck along with the rest of their belongings.

As they headed back into the house, Katrina followed them again.

"My daddy's pretty strong though. One time, he said that he threw a vampire clear across the room, like a hundred feet away!"

Both of the men stopped and gave her a questioning look.

"Mmm hmm!" Katrina nodded. "AND, my daddy beats up monsters! There's one that hides under my bed a lot. I guess he'll have to move too! If you see him, don't let him get in the truck!"

"Katrina, where are you?" Alison called as she walked down the hallway.

"I'm in here, Mommy!"

Alison walked into the room, embarrassed that she had let Katrina get out of her sight. "Katrina, you're supposed to be outside playing. These men are working and you're bothering them."

"I'm not bothering them, Mommy. We're just talking."

Alison looked over at the men apologetically. "I'm sorry. I left for two minutes and she got away from me."

"It's no bother, ma'am," said one of the men. "She kind of reminds me of my little girl, when she was that age, of course. She's a cute one."

"Yeah, everyone says that about me," Katrina told them.

They laughed.

"Well all the same, we'll let you get back to work," Alison said. "Come along, Katrina."

Alison walked out of the room and Katrina followed.

Katrina quickly turned back and poked her head into the doorway. "Don't forget! If you see that big ole monster, scare him off!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You picked a good day to move," Livvie said, looking out the kitchen window. "It's such a pretty day. And there's a nice breeze."

"True, but I don't have to worry about working up a sweat. Rafe won't let me pick up anything."

Livvie laughed. "Certainly an advantage of being pregnant."

"Livvie, I'm not talking about just heavy stuff. He won't even let me carry shoeboxes to the car."

Livvie laughed again. "Rafe was always a little over-protective. Well, is there anything else I can help you with?"

"You could help me clean up a bit. I want the house to look nice when we leave."

"Sure. You have any spray and paper towels?"

"On the counter."

As Livvie began wiping the counter, Alison grabbed a broom and began sweeping.

"Hey! The table's gone!" Katrina said, busting into the kitchen through the garage door.

"They moved it already, sweetie," Alison said. "They're probably just about ready to take everything over to the new house."

"Is that where Daddy went?"

"Yes. But he'll be back soon."

"Ooo! Can I help you sweep?" she begged.

"Well of course, if you want! Take it away!"

Alison handed over the broom and smiled as Katrina started to work.

"Enjoy it while you can," Livvie remarked. "Charlotte likes doing housework too but my dad says it's only temporary. He now has to bribe Christina to do her chores."

Alison laughed.

xxxxxxxxxx

Alison stood in the doorway, taking one more look at the house she and Rafe had made a home these last few years. It made her sad to go, but she looked forward to their new home, where they would make new memories.

"You look a million miles away," Rafe whispered from behind her.

"Just thinking about how much I'm going to miss this place."

Rafe put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "We had a lot of good times here."

Alison turned to Rafe and smiled. "Yes, we have."

_Honk! Honk!_

The sound of the horn startled them both as they looked out towards the driveway.

"Hey! Come on! Let's go!" Katrina hollered, poking her head out the car window.

"We're coming!" Alison called back. "Buckle up!"

"Well, I guess it's time to go," Rafe said softly.

"Yes, I suppose so."

Rafe took Alison's hand, and together, they walked out.

Alison watched as Rafe closed the door and locked it one last time. She almost cried, but thoughts of their brand new house made her forget.

As they got into the car, Katrina was all set and ready to go. Bernie was too, sitting in the seat beside her, strapped in as well.

"New house, here we come!" Katrina cheered.

Alison and Rafe laughed.

"That's right, Princess."

"New house, here we come," Alison said.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Wow! Our new house!" Katrina ran through the front door, marveling at the site of their house now filled with furniture.

"Oh, Rafe, it looks great!"

"Are you sure? Because we can always arrange the furniture another way if you don't like it. The moving men had to sit it all down somewhere."

Alison looked to Rafe and smiled. "It's perfect."

"I wanna see my room! Can I?"

Rafe laughed. "Well of course, Princess! This is our house now! Look around! And I think you'll get a big surprise when you go up there."

Katrina laughed, making her way over to the staircase. She began to run.

"Don't run on those stairs!" Alison warned. "Why do I have a feeling I'm going to be saying that a lot?"

Rafe laughed. "Come on, let's follow her. I want to show you too."

"Show me what?"

"Just come on." Rafe took Alison's hand, leading her up the stairs.

"WOW!" Katrina ran out of her bedroom, meeting her parents in the hallway. "Mommy! Daddy! Come look! You've GOT to see this!"

Rafe and Alison followed Katrina, and once in the room, Alison could see what all the fuss was about.

The room was fit for a princess, and for a little girl who really loved horses.

"Look! Pink walls! And my name over the bed! And look at that! It's so pretty!" Katrina pointed to a framed picture of a running horse. "And look at this!"

Over in the corner, there was a carousel horse. Katrina wasted no time and hopped on. "My room's the BEST!"

Alison couldn't help but laugh. "Katrina, you have a beautiful room!" She turned to Rafe. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?"

"Well, just a little bit. Lucy did most of it. The carousel horse was her idea by the way. She about drove Don crazy sending him all over town to look for that."

Alison laughed. "Well when Lucy sets her mind to something, there's nothing stopping her. Looks like she did a fantastic job."

"She did the nursery too."

"Lucy's been busy!"

Rafe laughed. "Well she figured with all of the moving and packing, we'd need some help. Less work for us, right?"

Alison laughed.

"Princess, you want to come see your brother's room?"

"Yeah!" Katrina hopped off the horse and followed her parents.

The nursery walls were painted blue, which made this definitely a boy's room according to Katrina. Over in the corner, a rocking chair sat, which Alison had almost forgotten they still had. It had been sitting in the shed ever since they didn't need it anymore.

"I hope you like the bedding," Rafe said. "Lucy picked it all out herself and she swore up and down that we would be pleased."

Alison walked over to the crib, running her hand along the blue blanket. "I love it." Alison felt tears starting to sting her eyes.

Rafe was used to Alison being all emotional lately. "What is it?" he asked, putting his arm over her shoulder.

"It's just the crib, and the rocking chair. It's just that I almost forgotten what they looked like I hadn't seen it in so long."

"Well I told you we'd be keeping them. I knew we'd be needing them again."

Katrina peered into the crib, wondering what all the fuss was about.

"This used to be your bed, Princess."

"I used to sleep in _that_?"

Rafe laughed. "Yes. When you were a baby."

"How come I slept with boy covers?"

Alison and Rafe both laughed.

"You had different covers, Princess. These are your brother's."

"Oh."

"So what do you think of your brother's room, Katrina?" Alison asked.

"I like it! But my room is better."

Rafe and Alison laughed again.

"Ooo!" Katrina pointed to the letters on the wall. "G-A-B-R-I-E-L," she spelled slowly. "Does that say 'Gabe'?"

Rafe walked over to Katrina and scooped her up in his arms. "Close. It says Gabriel."

"Oh. I wanna go write Gabriel's name. I wanna learn how to spell it."

"That's a great idea. Why don't you go to your room and practice it. I think you have some markers and paper in your bookbag in your closet."

"Okay!"

Rafe set Katrina down and she ran out of the room.

"So, we've seen the children's rooms. How about checking out ours?" Rafe asked.

"I was hoping you would suggest that." Alison took Rafe's hand and they walked out of the room.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"What do you think you're doing?" Rafe asked, walking into the kitchen and seeing Alison opening up boxes.

"I'm unpacking. Katrina wanted a sandwich so I made her one, and I had to get a plate out of the box. Then I decided to unpack all of the dishes."

Rafe walked over to her, placing his hands over hers. "Let me do this. You rest. It's been a long day, and you must be tired."

"But I'm fine."

"But no buts," Rafe said, putting a finger to her lip.

"Rafe, you're being totally unreasonable, you know this, don't you?If you won't let me unpack the kitchenware then I'm just going to go right upstairs and start unpacking my clothes. Besides, you don't know where any of this will go and I bet you'll manage to break something."

Rafe sighed. He had to admit it, but she was probably right about that. "Okay. But look, do me a favor. Don't pick up anymore of these boxes. Some of them are really heavy."

"Alright, I won't," Alison agreed, giving him a kiss.

"Thank you. Now, I think I'll head to the car and get some things out of the trunk."

"Okay."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who that could be," Rafe said.

"We have our first visitors! Let's go find out."

Rafe followed Alison out to the living room and she answered the door.

"Livvie! Eve! Oh my gosh, what is this?" Alison laughed.

"Housewarming presents, what did you think?" Livvie smiled, holding up a delicious smelling apple pie.

"And every new house needs a new houseplant," Eve added, holding up a hanging basket with leafy green stems trailing from the sides.

"Oh I love it, come on in!"

"Danny! You two come on!" Eve called out.

Livvie and Eve stepped inside, and Danny and Charlotte followed moments later.

"Wow, cool house!" Danny said.

"Cool house!" Charlotte repeated.

"Katrina's upstairs if you two want to go play," Alison told them. "Katrina!"

Katrina came running halfway down the stairs. "What?"

"Your friends are here."

"Hey! C'mere you guys! I wanna show you my room!"

Danny ran up the stairs, following Katrina.

Charlotte trailed behind. "Hey! Wait for me! Katrina!"

"Thank you so much for the gifts, girls!" Alison said, taking the plant from Eve. "How about we set that pie in the kitchen and I'll show you around?"

"Sounds good!" Livvie said.

"I think I'll start unloading the car," Rafe announced, nodding to Eve and Livvie as he headed outside.

"Well I'm afraid the house is kind of a disaster right now with all of the boxes and stuff," Alison apologized. "But once we get things unpacked it'll look a lot better."

"Oh we can help!" Eve suggested.

"Really?"

"Sure! That's what friends are for, right?" Livvie added.

"Oh, that would be great! We could use the help. Thanks so much! But, we can't do it right now."

"Why not?" Livvie asked.

"Because…we have to have some of that delicious pie first!"

The girls laughed, and Alison dug out some plates and forks for the pie.


	12. Chapter 12

**Changes 12**

Katrina sat on the living room floor behind the couch. Her Barbie dolls and all of their accessories were scattered across the carpet.

"Your dress is so pretty, Barbie!" Katrina said, holding up two dolls and pretending one was talking to the other.

"Thank you! Yours is pretty too! Now we better hurry or we'll be late for the ball! Ken will be there and I can't wait to show him my dress and to dance with him!"

"Okay, let's go!"

Katrina made the two dolls walk off together somewhere around the couch to where the "ball" would be.

Just then, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs distracted Katrina from her game. She saw her father rush down the steps. He had his sneakers on. It looked like he was going somewhere.

"Where ya goin', Daddy?"

"Out for a run," Rafe answered.

Katrina lit up. "Can I go too?"

Rafe laughed softly. "Some other time, Princess." He bent down, kissing his daughter on the cheek as he headed out the front door.

Katrina threw her dolls on the floor, suddenly bored with the game. She hopped up and ran to the kitchen.

"Mommy!"

Alison stood at the sink washing some fruit. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Can I ride my bike?"

"That's fine. Stay in the driveway."

"Can't I ride on the sidewalk too?"

"Just in front of the house."

"But Daddy's running! I wanna catch him!"

"Katrina, stay in front of the house so that I can see you. And don't you dare go into the road. Do you understand?"

"Alright," Katrina said, a little disappointed, but she knew that was the end of it.

Heading to the garage, Katrina flipped the switch and opened the garage door. She loved making the door go up and down, but she wasn't allowed to play with it. One time, she kept making it go up and down over and over, and that made Daddy mad.

Going down the steps, Katrina hopped on her bike and began to pedal out of the garage. As she rode up and down the sidewalk in front of the house, she soon saw a familiar car pull into the driveway. It was Lucy!

"Lucy!" Katrina hopped off the bike and ran to the driver's side door, waiting for Lucy to open it.

"Hey there, Peanut!" Lucy said, giving Katrina a big hug. "What are you doing up so early in the morning?"

"Riding my bike!"

"Your mom and dad here?"

"Daddy said he's goin' on a run. Mommy's in the kitchen."

Lucy walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk. Katrina followed her.

"Whatcha got in there, Lucy?"

"A surprise." Lucy gave Katrina a grin. "Want to see?"

"Yeah!"

Lucy carefully took out something covered in a blanket. She took the blanket off, revealing a framed painting.

"Ooo!" Katrina said.

"What do you think?" Lucy asked.

"It's pretty! What's it for?"

"For decoration, of course!" Lucy laughed. "Come on, let's go inside and show it to your mother."

As the two walked up to the house, Alison appeared in the doorway. "I thought I heard a car. Hi, Lucy!"

"Hi!"

"Mommy! Look what Lucy's got!"

"What is that you've got, Lucy?"

"How about we go inside and I show you?"

Alison held the door open as Katrina ran inside and Lucy followed, carrying the painting. They headed into the living room.

"So, what is this that you've got here?"

"A little something for you wall," Lucy said with a grin, showing her the painting.

When Alison first laid her eyes on it, she knew right away that Rafe had something to do with it. There it was, their bridge, all lit up and beautiful, set against the trees and sky at night. Memories of their first time together on that bridge, when Rafe made all of those pretty dancing lights, filled Alison's head.

"Oh, Lucy! This is _beautiful_!"

"Doc painted it."

"Kevin did this?" Alison took the painting from Lucy and held it in front of her, getting a closer look. "Oh tell him thank you! It's absolutely gorgeous!"

"I keep telling him he ought to sale his paintings and make a little money but he never goes for it."

"Rafe had something to do with this, didn't he?"

Lucy grinned. "Well, a little. You see, it all started when I looked over at that fireplace and said you simply _had_ to have some kind of art up there on that wall above it! And Rafe didn't know what kind of art I had in mind. So when I suggested maybe Kevin could paint something, he asked if he could paint that bridge in the park and I told him I was sure he could."

"He got the lighting right and everything. It just looks so magical."

"Rafe said the same thing when he saw it," Lucy said with a grin. "It sure must be a special place for you."

"Oh it is special to us. It's where Rafe proposed, you know."

Lucy smiled. "I know."

"What's 'proposed'?" Katrina asked, looking up from Barbie dolls, which she had decided to play with again.

Alison smiled. "It's when a man asks a woman to marry him."

"Oh." Katrina turned her attention back to her dolls.

"Oh, Lucy. Thank you for this!And thank Kevin for me! As soon as Rafe gets back, I'll see if he'll hang it up."

"It'll look beautiful!"

"Speaking of beautiful…Lucy, the children's rooms! You did an _incredible_ job! Katrina loves it! And the nursery! They're perfect!"

Lucy smiled. "I'm glad you love it. The rest of the house is looking great too. Seems like you've got a lot done."

"We got a lot of unpacking done yesterday."

Just then, the front door opened, and Rafe walked in.

Alison went straight into his arms, greeting him with a kiss. "I wasn't expecting to see you back so soon."

"I saw Lucy's car in the driveway, so I didn't stay out much longer. Did you get my surprise?"

"Yes! And I love it! Will you hang it up?"

"Sure. After breakfast that is. I'm starved."

"Of course. Lucy, you'll stay for breakfast, right?"

"Well, I already had some coffee on my way over."

"Blueberry pancakes," Alison said, hoping she'd give in.

She did. "Oh all right! I'll stay! I do love blueberries."

Alison laughed. "I'll set an extra plate."

The three headed into the kitchen.

"Katrina, come on!" Alison called out to her.

"Just a minute, Mommy!"

Katrina reached for her Barbie doll case and dug out Ken. She stood the Ken doll next to Barbie on top of the coffee table. In her mind, they were on a bridge, just like the one in the painting.

"Barbie, will you marry me?" Katrina said, pretending to speak for Ken.

"Yes! I'll marry you, Ken! And I've already got a wedding dress!"

Katrina pushed the dolls together, making them "kiss" as she made kissing noises.

Alison poked her head out into the living room to see what was keeping her daughter. She couldn't help but laugh. "You nut! What are you playing?"

"Ken just proposed to Barbie. Looks like there's gonna be a wedding!"

Alison laughed. "Come on, silly girl. It's time for breakfast."

Katrina threw the dolls back on the floor and ran to her mother, following her into the kitchen.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That afternoon, Rafe went to the store. Alison had a craving for vanilla ice cream, and Katrina was begging for chocolate.

It was pouring rain outside.

But Rafe couldn't think of anything that would stop him from getting ice cream for his girls.

Katrina looked out her window, watching the car pull out of the driveway. She jumped back when she saw a streak of lightning in the distance. Lightning wasn't as scary in the afternoon as it was at night, but it was still scary.

Katrina left her room and walked down the hallway. As she peered into her parent's bedroom, she noticed her mother lying on the bed.

"Mommy, why are you laying down?"

Alison looked over to Katrina and smiled. "I'm just sleepy."

"Are you taking a nap?" Katrina asked, climbing up on the bed.

"Sort of. I'm just resting. I might fall asleep."

Outside, a big boom of thunder was heard. The storm was moving in.

"The angels must be bowling again," Katrina said, looking up towards the ceiling.

Alison laughed. "You want to lay with me for a while, keep me company?"

"Yeah. I'm scared of the thunder." Katrina curled up beside her mother and rested her head on her father's pillow.

"Mommy, can I touch your belly?"

"Sure."

Katrina placed her hands on her mother's rounded belly. She was amazed at how big her mother's stomach was growing. And Mommy said she was going to get even bigger than this real soon.

"Mommy, when will Gabe come out?"

"Not for a few more months. It'll probably be around the time you start school."

"I want him to come out now."

"Oh, no we don't want Gabe to come out now."

"Why not? I want to see him."

"I do too, sweetie, but it's too soon. Right now he's too little. If he was born now, he'd be really sick and have to spend some time in the hospital. He needs a little while longer to grow so when it is time for him to see us, he'll be strong and healthy."

"Oh. I don't want Gabe to be sick. But I still wish he was here. I want to touch him."

Alison smiled. "He'll be here soon enough."

Suddenly, Katrina felt something very strange. It was as if she felt the baby move right under her hand. "Whoa! What was _that_?"

Alison laughed. "Did you feel him kick, sweetie?"

"That was him kicking?" Katrina looked up at her mother with amazement.

"Yes! And I imagine he'll be moving and kicking a lot more now that he's a little bigger."

"But he's not big enough to be born yet."

"That's right."

Katrina impulsively went to kiss her mother's stomach. "I love you, Gabe!"

"I think he's trying to say he loves you too," Alison said with a laugh as she felt the baby kick again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rafe smiled at the sight of them. There they were, his two favorite girls, fast asleep in the middle of the afternoon.

The rain had stopped, but it was still cloudy. He didn't blame them for being lazy and wanting to nap on a day like this.

Rafe quietly crept towards the bed to get a closer look. He tried not to wake either of them up, but Alison opened her eyes anyway. She had sensed he was there.

"Hey there," she whispered.

"Hey." Rafe smiled and sat down on the bed. He leaned over Katrina and kissed Alison. "That ice cream is in the freezer whenever you want it."

"Thank you. I'll have some later."

"Do you need anything right now?"

"Why don't you lay down with us for a while?"

"I'm not really tired."

"Oh come on. Just for a little while. I always sleep better anyway when you're in the same bed."

Rafe gave in. It wasn't as if he had anything to do on a Sunday afternoon anyway. He wrapped his arm around the two of them.

Alison smiled, closing her eyes. She loved convincing Rafe to take afternoon naps with her. Of course, not like it was hard to do or anything. He could never say no to her.

Katrina's eyes moved rapidly, as she was still in dreamland.

And soon afterwards, they were all asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** It's short, but cute (especially if you like kids!) :) Enjoy! And happy 4th everyone!

**Changes 13**

Outside the kitchen window, there was a bird happily chirping away in a tree branch. Alison looked outside, smiling when she saw how pretty of a day it was. The sun was shining, and from the way the trees were swaying, she could tell there was a gentle breeze.

Alison stayed home from work today. Rafe, in his paranoia, begged her to cut down her hours at the bakery, as he was afraid she was overworking herself in her prenatal state. But it really didn't make sense because when she was at home, she worked twice as hard with the housework and she _still_ cooked. But Rafe was persistent, saying she needed time to rest, and she wasn't going to get that accomplished running around baking cakes all day, so she eventually gave in.

Now she was glad she stayed home. She got to spend the whole day with her daughter. Suddenly, a walk around the neighborhood seemed like a really good idea.

"Katrina?"

Katrina's little blonde head poked out from underneath the table. "Shh! I'm hiding!" she whispered.

"From who?"

"The lion!"

Alison feigned shock. "A lion? No!"

"Yeah! Escaped from the zoo! He's hungry and he'll eat me if he sees me!"

Alison knelt down beside her and motioned for her to come closer so she could hear her. "Let's go for a walk then. And by the time we get back, he will have given up and gone home."

"Okay!" Katrina whispered happily. Her mother was full of good plans!

As they walked down the sidewalk, Katrina ran ahead every few minutes, grabbing every dandelion in sight and blowing it until the feathery seeds went flying through the air.

Alison couldn't help but laugh. Watching her daughter made her appreciate the simple pleasures in life.

Just then, Danny came riding around the corner on his bike. He stopped when he saw Katrina and her mother and tooted the little horn on his bike.

"Hey, Danny!" Katrina said happily.

"Hi, Danny. Shouldn't you be in school now?" Alison asked.

"No, it's summer!" Danny said, laughing.

Oh yeah, it was summer. Alison realized how fast the weeks had passed. "How long have you been out of school?"

"Since last week." Danny turned to Katrina, remembering he wanted to tell her something. "Hey, there's a cat hanging around our house! You wanna come see her?"

Katrina looked up at her mom and gave her those begging eyes. "Can I, Mommy?"

Alison smiled. "Sure. How about we walk over there?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina and Danny sat on the floor, taking turns petting the cat as she walked back and forth between them. She was a friendly cat with white fur and black patches all over her.

"What's her name?" Katrina asked, giving her a scratch underneath her chin. She quickly discovered that she must like that because she soon began to purr.

"We call her Bessie, cause she kinda looks like a cow with her black spots."

"She's got a big belly."

"That's because she's going to have babies real soon."

"Hey! Just like Mommy!"

"Yeah! Dad says she'll probably have three, maybe even four!"

Katrina looked up at her mother sitting on the couch. "Mommy, are you sure there's only one baby inside of you?"

"Quite sure, sweetie." The image of herself giving birth to a litter of babies gave Alison a laugh.

Eve walked into the room, handing Alison a glass of water. "Danny, why don't you go put a little food in her bowl? And make sure she has water too."

"Okay. Come on, Bessie!" Danny hopped off the floor and headed to the kitchen, with Katrina and the cat right behind him.

"I didn't know you adopted a cat, Eve," Alison said, taking a sip of her water.

"Well, we didn't. It's more like she adopted us," Eve said with a laugh. "I don't think she's a stray, because she looks like she's been well taken care of. But I don't know, for the past few days, she's been hanging around here. I told Danny not to feed her or she'd never go back home but he's gotten so attached to that animal and I started to feel sorry for her anyway. She looked so pitiful and hungry, and being pregnant and all. She'd stand at the front door and just meow and meow until I finally gave in and bought her some cat food. So we've been watching over her for the past couple of days."

"She must belong to someone. Are you going to take her to the shelter?"

"I thought of that, but I thought I'd have better luck posting flyers and asking around the neighborhood first. And I even posted an ad in the paper too. I've seen her around before so I figure her owner can't live too far away. Besides, Danny threw a fit when I suggested taking her to the shelter. I suppose it couldn't hurt. Danny's been wanting a pet for so long and this is good practice. But if no one's claimed her by the time the kittens are born, I suppose by then I'll have to take her."

"I'm hungry!" Danny announced, coming back into the living room. "Mom, when do we eat?"

Eve rose from her seat. "I'll go fix up something now. Alison, would you and Katrina like to stay for lunch?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose…"

"You wouldn't be imposing! " Eve said with a laugh. "Come on, I've got plenty! You like hot dogs and fries, don't you?"

Alison looked over at Katrina, who smiled widely and licked her lips.

She could read her daughter's mind. She was thinking the same thing.

"Okay, we'll stay!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, Katrina. Look." Danny turned the almost empty bottle of ketchup upside down and began squirting the last little bit on his hot dog. "It's farting!" Danny laughed.

"Eww! Danny's making farting noises with the ketchup bottle!"

"It's got diarrhea!"

Katrina rolled with laughter. "PU! You better hold your nose and keep flushing the toilet! It'll stink!"

"Alright, you two, no potty talk at the kitchen table," Eve said, taking the ketchup bottle in question away from her son and putting a brand new one on the table to replace it.

"Alison, what would you like on yours? I've got mustard, ketchup, onions…"

"Oh _everything_!" Alison said with a laugh, patting her stomach. "This kid's got the appetite of his father, I'll tell you that!"

Eve laughed. "Ian and Danny are the same way. What is it with men and food?"

"I want another hot dog!" Danny interrupted rather impatiently.

Eve nodded towards Danny. He had practically wolfed down the first one in seconds. "See?"

Alison and Eve laughed, and then they joined the children at the table.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** It's another short one, but if I don't post it now I'll just keep trying to change it and it'll never leave my computer lol!

On another note...YAY for Kelly for winning Dancing With the Stars!

**Changes 14**

Alison pulled into the driveway and stopped the car. "Can you help me with the groceries, baby?" she asked Katrina.

"Yeah." Katrina unbuckled herself and hopped out of the car, running to the back towards the trunk.

Alison opened the trunk and handed the lightest bag to Katrina. "You take the bread." She then reached inside, taking the heavier bags for herself.

_Beep! Beep!_

Alison and Katrina turned to the edge of their driveway, seeing Danny sitting in his big wheels jeep.

"Hey, guess what! Bessie had her babies!"

Katrina looked up at her mother excitedly. "Oh, Mommy! Can I go see?"

"Okay, but let's…" _get the groceries inside first_, she was going to say. But before she could get the words out, Katrina had already tossed the plastic bag onto the ground and was climbing into Danny's jeep.

"Katrina Rose!"

Either she hadn't heard her mother, or she was ignoring her. In any case, the jeep was halfway down the street, leaving Alison standing there with a bag holding the milk in one hand and melting fudge bars in the other.

"She's already riding in cars with boys," Alison said to herself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After putting up all of the groceries, Alison headed over to the Thornhart's. When Katrina realized it was her mother at the door, she ran over to greet her.

"Mommy! You gotta come see the kitties! They're _so cute_!"

"In a minute. Come sit down with me."

_Uh oh_. Katrina knew that tone of voice. It was usually Daddy who used it but once in a while, Mommy would too, and it meant only one thing…she was in trouble.

Alison took a seat on the couch and Katrina did the same.

"Look at me," Alison said, and Katrina looked her mother in the eyes. "I don't ever want you going down the street by yourself again, do you hear me?"

"Danny was with me," Katrina said softly.

"That doesn't matter. I don't think Danny was supposed to be in the street either. You are not allowed to go down to his house without an adult."

"But his house is not far."

"That may be, but it's too far away for me to see you."

Katrina's eyes turned away from her mother, and she looked down.

"Katrina, look at me."

Katrina looked up at her mother, her chin starting to quiver a little.

"Katrina, I'm not trying to be mean. I'm not saying you can't come over to play with Danny. I'm just saying that I don't want you coming over here alone. The only reason I'm so upset is because I was so scared. What if something had happened to you? What if a car came, huh? What if a stranger came and hurt you and Danny? I'm only upset because I love you so much, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Am I gonna be in big trouble when we get home?"

"You didn't know it was wrong, so we'll make this your warning. But if you do this again, then yes, you will be in big trouble. You understand?"

"Yes."

"Good." Alison gave Katrina a smile, trying to lighten the mood. "Come here." Alison wrapped her arms around her daughter, giving her a good squeeze. "You know, I'd still like to see those kittens. Can you show me now?"

Katrina gave her mother a big smile. "Yeah, come on!" Katrina stood up and took her mother's hand, leading the way.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Oh, Daddy! They're so cute! You _have_ to see them!" Katrina said at the dinner table that night. Rafe and Alison were already halfway finished, but Katrina had hardly touched her food. She hadn't stopped talking about the kittens since they sat down.

"What do they look like, Princess?"

"The first one is black, but he's got white on his belly and his face and his paws. He kinda looks like Sylvester."

Rafe laughed.

"Then there's this really, really cute little yellow one, and the other one looks just like Bessie. Mrs. Eve calls her 'Little Bess'. We saw Little Bess being born too! But that part was kinda gross! She came out in this big brown blob! But Bessie licked her and licked her and she was all cleaned up and she started meowing. She said, 'Mew! Mew!' She was so cute!"

"Well it looks like tomorrow I'll have to stop by there and check these kittens out," Rafe said.

"They're really, really tiny! Their eyes are closed too. Mrs. Eve said they'd stay closed for about ten days. They can't see at all, Daddy!"

"Sweetie, we love hearing about the kittens, but your dinner is getting cold," Alison said. "Eat a little bit, alright?"

"Okay."

It was quiet for a while, as the three of them ate.

Katrina couldn't stop thinking about the kittens. Danny was so lucky. He got to be with them all the time.

"Well, that was delicious," Rafe said, pushing his plate aside.

"I have some chocolate pie in the refrigerator if you want some."

"That sounds great. I think I would."

"I'll get it." Alison started to get up, but Rafe stopped her.

"No, no, I'll get it. You just sit down and finish up."

Alison smiled. "All right. Bring it to the table. Gabe wants some too."

Rafe laughed, taking a few plates out of the cabinet.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Where do babies come from?"

Rafe and Alison both paused, glancing at each other, thinking the same thing. They knew this question would come up sooner or later. They just weren't expecting it to be this very moment.

Alison cleared her throat. She wished she had thought this out first. "Well, sweetie, babies…they come from God."

"Even kitty babies?"

"Sure, even kittens."

"How does God give us babies?"

"Um…well…it's like this. When a man and a woman love each other very much, like your daddy and I do. Or when a girl cat likes a boy cat, sometimes God gives them a baby."

Rafe stifled a laugh. He was glad he wasn't the one to be answering this.

"Does that answer your question, sweetie?" Alison smiled.

Katrina looked at her mother, and Alison could tell right away that there was another one coming.

"But _how_ does the baby get _inside _the mommy? How did Gabe get inside of _you_?"

The room was silent, save for the sound of Rafe dropping a fork on the kitchen floor.

"Sweetie, there's just a special place in a woman's body and that's where babies start to grow."

Katrina smiled. "Oh."

Alison breathed a sigh of relief. That answer seemed to satisfy her.

"I'm done! Can I go watch cartoons?"

"Sure sweetie, go ahead."

Katrina hopped out of the chair and ran out into the living room.

Rafe sat back down at the table, carrying two plates of pie for Alison and himself. "I think you handled that well."

"Yeah, thanks for the help by the way," Alison said with a laugh, picking up her fork and digging into the pie.

"I thought you were answering it just fine," he said with a wink.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I probably should have named this story "The Cuteness of Katrina" instead. LOL! I think Charlotte's pretty cute too ;-)

Oh, and you get bonus points if you can guess who I based the man in the story on.

Until 16!

**Changes 15**

"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow," Livvie said, sitting on the bed as she watched Alison putting some clothes in a suitcase.

"I know. We planned this trip weeks ago and now it's here. It feels like these past few weeks have flown by."

"How long do you think you'll stay?"

"Not sure. Couple of weeks maybe? I guess it depends on how much time it takes for Rafe to get things in order."

"Well don't worry about the bakery. I'll take good care of it while you're gone."

"Thanks, Livvie."

"You'll send me a postcard from Romania, right?"

"Of course!"

As the two talked, Charlotte suddenly ran in and crouched behind the door.

Livvie looked over at her daughter and laughed. "What are you doing, Charlotte?"

Charlotte just laughed.

A few moments later, they heard Katrina shout that she was coming, ready or not, and she walked into the room.

"BOO!" Charlotte shouted, jumping out from behind the door and laughing hysterically.

"Charlotte! What did I _just_ tell you? You're not supposed to tell me where you're hiding! It's called hide-and-go-_seek_! Not hide-and-go-_boo_!"

"Hide again!" Charlotte said, running out of the room.

Katrina looked at her mother and Livvie, shaking her head. "She doesn't know how to play this game very good!"

Alison and Livvie laughed, watching as Katrina ran out of the room and down the hallway.

"I suppose the concept of hide and seek escapes a three-year-old," Livvie said with a laugh.

Alison looked at her watch, wondering what time it was. "Oh my god. It's 4:30 already. I'm surprised Rafe hasn't called me yet to see how my appointment with Dr. Meadows went."

"Is he still being all overprotective?"

"Yes. I mean he's overprotective anyway but whenever I'm pregnant, he just hovers."

"Yeah…it was totally the opposite with me and Jack when I was pregnant. He'd go to great lengths to _avoid_ me."

Alison laughed. "Only because he was afraid you'd bite his head off!"

"So I was hormonal. So what?"

"You were so mean to him, Livvie!" Alison laughed again. "Poor Jack! He'd just stand there and take it while you'd yell at him!"

"Oh come on! Would it have killed him to go the extra three minutes out of his way to pick up the Oreos like I asked? And then he had the nerve to show up with those cheap imitation cookies he picked up at a _gas station_ of all places! Like it would taste like the real thing! I think that would be enough to upset anyone."

"I seem to recall you throwing those cookies in his face and storming out of the house to go to the store yourself. I think that was more than just 'upset'."

Livvie shrugged. "Okay, fine, I was full of rage. But it was only because of the hormones. Besides, I really wanted _Oreos_!" she said with a laugh.

The phone suddenly rang. "That's Rafe," Alison said, reaching over and grabbing the cordless from the nightstand.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Angel."

"Hi, sweetheart. You about ready to come home?"

"In a little while. Just picking up some last minute things. Did you see Dr. Meadows today?"

Alison gave Livvie a look. "Yes, dear."

"Well what did she say?"

"She said my husband worries too much."

"Alison!"

"What do you think she said?"

"Well I hope she gave you a good bill of health because if not you can forget about going."

"Rafe, I'm packing my bags as we speak. Relax! She said the baby and I are both fine and that she didn't see any reason why I couldn't fly. So relax. And be nice. My grandmother is letting us use the Barrington jet. So if you don't let me go, I may not let you use it."

Rafe sighed on the other end. "You really would. You're so stubborn."

Alison laughed. "But you love me anyway."

"That I do. So, do you need anything while I'm out?"

"AHHH!" Charlotte yelled, running into the bedroom and hopping up on the bed.

"I'm gonna get you, Charlotte!" Katrina said, laughing as she climbed onto the bed with her and began to tickle her mercilessly.

"Mama! Mama!" Charlotte grabbed on to her mother as she laughed and laughed.

"Alison?"

"What? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you."

"Do you need me to pick up anything?"

"Yeah. There's something I forgot to get. Can you pick up those little travel size bottles…."

"I'm the tickle monster!" Katrina shouted, and Charlotte shrieked with more laughter.

"Hold on…girls! I'm on the phone! Rafe, I'm sorry. The kids were being too loud."

Katrina, upon hearing the mention of her father's name, hopped off the bed and ran to her mother. "Ooo! Let me talk to Daddy!"

"Hold on, sweetie. Can you get those little tiny bottles of shampoo and conditioner? You know what I'm talking about?"

Katrina tugged at her mother's shirt repeatedly. "Mommy! I want to talk to Daddy!"

"And make sure you get enough for all of us. I know we can get supplies there but we'll need something to tide us over."

"Mommy!" Katrina begged, getting quite annoyed that her mother wouldn't hand her the phone. "Please! Let me talk to Daddy!"

"Rafe, do you hear her? She's bouncing off the walls."

Rafe laughed. "Put her on."

Alison handed the phone to Katrina, who happily snatched it away. "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hi, Princess."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just picking up some things we'll need for our trip."

"Hey, Daddy, guess what!"

"What?"

"I found a penny and two nickels in the pocket of my old shorts!"

Rafe laughed. "Well then you're eleven cents richer! Put that in your piggy bank."

"I did. When you comin' home?"

"I'll be home soon."

"Okay. I love you, Daddy!"

"I love you too, Princess. Can you put Mommy back on the phone now?"

Katrina handed the phone back to her mother and hopped back on the bed.

"Rafe?"

"Hey. Was there anything else you needed?"

"Just for you to come home soon. We miss you."

"I will be home soon. I love you."

"Love you too." Alison ended the call, then put the cordless back on the receiver. "Well, I think this is it," she announced, closing the suitcase. "Livvie, can you help me zip it?"

"Sure." Livvie grabbed the zipper on one side of the suitcase, zipping it until it met the other one. "So you're all packed and ready to go, huh?"

"Guess so."

"Hey, Aunt Livvie, guess what!"

"What?"

"I got a suitcase too! Brand new! It's got Dora on it! You wanna see?"

"Sure."

"Hold on, be right back!" Katrina hopped off the bed and ran out of the room with Charlotte tagging behind her.

"She's been wheeling that thing around the house all week." Alison said with a laugh.

A few moments later, Katrina came in with her rolling backpack. "See, Aunt Livvie? It's got Dora and Boots on it and it says 'best friends'."

"Oh, that's nice. Are you all packed?"

"I'll show you what's inside." Katrina sat down and unzipped the backpack. The toys inside spilled out like an avalanche.

"Ooo!" Charlotte dropped to the floor, putting her hands on all of the toys.

"Whoa. That's a lot of toys. You bringing all of that to Romania?"

"Katrina Rose! What happened to all of the clothes I put in that bag?"

Katrina looked up innocently at her mother. "I had to take them out 'cause my toys wouldn't fit. Daddy said I could bring them."

Alison sighed. "Well we'll put your clothes in _his_ suitcase then."

"Well, I hate to say this, but we should go," Livvie announced, getting up off the bed. "Jack will be home in about an hour and he'll be hungry. You'll stop by before you leave tomorrow morning, right?"

"Of course. We'll say goodbye then, alright?"

"Okay. Charlotte baby, what do you want for dinner?"

"Pancakes!"

"Pancakes? For _dinner_?"

"Make some pancakes, Mama!"

"Pancakes? You silly girl!" Livvie reached over and gave her daughter a little tickle on her belly. She turned to Alison. "Looks like we're having pancakes for dinner. We'll let ourselves out. Bye."

"Bye," Alison said, laughing. She then looked down at her daughter. "Alright, Miss Katrina, go get your clothes. We're going to make them fit one way or the other."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina looked out of the jet's window, smiling as she saw cloud upon cloud. They looked like cotton candy to her, but when they flew through them, it just looked like fog.

There was then a clearing, and beneath the clouds, Katrina saw miles and miles of blue water. "Wow," she whispered, amazed at how big it all seemed. It just seemed to go on forever and ever.

Katrina got up from her seat and went over to sit beside her mother. "Mommy?"

Alison had been sitting quietly, resting her eyes. She opened them at the sound of Katrina's voice. "What, baby?"

"Are we almost there yet?"

"No baby. We've got hours to go."

"How far away is Transzania?"

Alison laughed. "Transylvania," she corrected.

"Oh. That's a big word!"

"It far away, Katrina. Like 4,000 miles away I think."

"Come here, Princess. I'll show you."

Katrina got up and went to sit beside her father. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the folded paper Rafe held.

"This is a map," he answered, unfolding it to show Katrina. "It's a map of the world. Do you see that?" Rafe put his finger on the state of New York. "That's where we live. That's New York. And you see all of this blue?"

"Uh huh."

"Well that's the Atlantic Ocean. That's what we're flying over now." Rafe moved his finger along the map, showing the direction they were flying. "And we're going to go all the way across it until we get to here, and that's Romania right there."

"That doesn't look very far away."

Rafe laughed. "Well that's because this map was drawn very small. But your mother's right. It's about 4,000 miles away."

"Are we gonna be in this plane _forever_? I'm bored!"

"You have some toys from home in your bag. You have some coloring books, and your dolls."

"No, I don't wanna play with any of that. Daddy, I want you to tell me a story."

Rafe smiled. "All right." Rafe set the map down and Katrina curled up beside him.

"Once upon a time, there was this beautiful little princess. She had long, beautiful hair, the color of the sun. And she had these big beautiful blue eyes, as blue as the ocean."

"And her name was Katrina!" Katrina happily said.

Rafe smiled. "Yes, her name was Katrina. And she wore a pink, shimmering dress and a sparkling diamond tiara on her head. And she lived in this big white castle."

"And she had white horses that drove her around everywhere in a silver pumpkin carriage!"

"Who's telling this story, me or you?"

Katrina laughed. "Now tell the part about the queen!"

"Okay. The princess's mother, the queen, was also very beautiful. In fact, she was so beautiful, she looked like an angel from heaven. She also had a very kind heart, and she was always doing everything she could to help those in need."

"Don't forget the roses!"

"I was just getting to that part. The queen had this magnificent rose garden, full of pink roses, because it was the queen's favorite flower. And every morning, the queen and the princess would go out and pick roses for the castle. And they never seemed to run out of roses either. It was a magical rose garden. The roses were in bloom all the time, and they didn't even have thorns on them. It was thought since the queen took such good care of them, and that she had such a good heart, that angels must be watching over the garden."

"And what about the king?"

"Now the king…he felt like he was the luckiest man in the world. And you know why?"

"Because he loved his family," Katrina answered.

"That's right. He felt very lucky because he was in love with the most beautiful woman and they had the most beautiful little girl in the world. The king did everything he could to protect his family, and the kingdom as well. He didn't like to see any of his people suffering. And so they were all very happy together. But…"

"Evil was lurking," Katrina whispered.

"That's right. Because in a world where there is good, there is also evil. In the dark, dark woods, just outside the kingdom, their lived a man with a cold heart and no soul. Every day, he'd walk into town, and he'd watch as the king and the queen and the princess would drive through the streets in their royal carriage, and everyone would bow to them, throw them flowers, or run up to them and thank them. And the king would always take time to talk to everyone who came up to them. And the people felt very fortunate to have a leader that would protect them."

"Then the mean man came up with an evil plan!"

"He was jealous. He envied the attention and power that a king had. He was a very selfish and greedy man, and he wanted that power and prestige for himself. He was also very lonely. He had never married, and he wanted a family. He thought the king's wife was very beautiful. So he figured, if he could just take the king's place, then he would finally have everything he ever wanted."

Katrina held her breath, holding on to his every word.

"So one night, he gathered people just like himself, cold, dark, and angry people, and he told them his plan. And they all agreed…they thought it was a brilliant idea. For they wanted to create a world of people just like themselves, but they knew they couldn't do it with the king in their way."

"Then what, Daddy?"

"Well the first thing he did was to put a spell on the queen's rose garden. The next morning when the queen and the princess went out to pick roses, they were shocked to see that every pink bloom had turned black. And when they reached out to touch them, thorns that had not been there before suddenly pricked them, and they fell into a deep sleep right in that very garden."

"Then they got the king."

"Right. You see, meanwhile, the king was starting to wonder what was taking his wife and daughter so long. They had not come back inside yet. It was then that he was attacked. Many men came to him, knocking him down, bounding him with ropes. Then just like that, they threw him in the dungeon and handcuffed him to the wall."

"The poor king!"

"By then, the queen and princess had awoken, and at once, they knew something awful had happened. Standing before them was the man, grinning at them with eyes as black as the roses themselves. He told them the king was dead, and that he was now in charge."

"But he wasn't dead!"

"You're right, but the queen did not know that. She spent many days crying herself to sleep, thinking her love was gone. When really, he was locked away in the dungeon, being fed a measly piece of bread three times a day by the guards who worked for the man with no soul."

"The king tried to escape though."

"Yes, many times. But it was no use. He could not free himself, and he feared for his family, knowing that he might die if he didn't escape. For many days, the queen and the princess were held captive. There was no one they could turn to for help, as all of their servants had been thrown out into the streets and replaced with the evil guards."

"Then my favorite part happened!" Katrina said happily.

"One day, the princess went exploring around the castle, trying to hide from the guards, and to her amazement, she found out that her father was alive!"

"And she was gonna save him!"

"But she couldn't do it by herself. So at night, when the evil man was sleeping, the princess sneaked out of the castle, managing to hide from the guards. It was easy for her to hide, because she was so small."

"Then she got on her white horse!"

"She did. And she rode into town, spreading the word about what had happened. You see, the townspeople knew something awful had happened, for the servants who were thrown out had told them. But they didn't know what to do, as they feared the king was dead. But when they saw the princess, begging for help, there wasn't any argument. They knew they had to save the king. After all, the king and queen had done so much to help them. Now it was their turn to return the favor."

"So they marched to the castle!"

"That's right. You see, one person couldn't do it alone, but they could if they all worked together. So they marched to the castle with their weapons, defeating the guards. And as they did, the princess was able to grab the keys to the dungeon and release her father."

"Then what?"

"Then the king, now free, marched upstairs to find the man with no soul. By then, he had awoken, wondering what all of the racket was. Well the queen had ran out of her room, awakened from the noise too and was shocked to see her husband was alive! But she was afraid, as she feared she might lose him again. All she could do was watch as the evil man and the king had a great battle. And suddenly, the room filled with smoke, and the queen could not see anything. The princess ran to her mother, scared for her father as well."

"But then the smoke cleared!"

"And when it did, the evil man was gone, and the king was just fine."

"And all of the evil guards were gone too!"

"And finally, the kingdom was back to normal. The roses were pink again, and the servants came back, and the king went to his queen and kissed her. And he scooped the princess up in his arms and he kissed her too."

"And then they lived happily ever after!" Katrina said.

Rafe smiled. "Yes, they did. And that's the end."

"Oh I love that story, Daddy! Tell it again!"

Rafe laughed. "I think that's enough storytelling for now, Princess."

"Hey, Mommy, don't you love that story?" Katrina turned to her mother, but she didn't answer. Katrina looked at her father. "Mommy's sleeping!" she laughed.

"Mommy's tired." Rafe rose from his seat, walking over to Alison. He grabbed a blanket from the seat beside her and wrapped her up.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Princess?"

"You'd beat up a bad guy if he tried to get me and Mommy, wouldn't ya?"

"You know I would. I couldn't let anything happen to my girls," he said with a wink.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: _Yes, you were all right…it was Joshua. I was originally going to have Rafe use Caleb as the enemy in his story, but I didn't want to go there for obvious reasons. There's no way in hell I'd ever have Caleb fantasize about Alison, even if it's just for a story! But let's not go there, icky thoughts!_

_Then I thought I could use an evil witch as the enemy in Rafe's story, based on Livvie, but oh wait, Livvie is NICE in my story! Haha, so that wouldn't work. So that's how I came up with Joshie. He never has actually made an appearance in my series of stories which is fine with me but he did give me an idea of who to base someone evil on ;)_

_Okay, before we go on, some notes for this chapter:_

_Vorbiţi englezeşte: Do you speak English? _

_Also, when Rafe calls room service, he orders waffles, bacon, eggs, orange juice, and a bowl of strawberries, just in case you wanted to know :) Oh and of course syrup b/c Katrina and Alison will eat it no other way! ;) But that's quite obvious b/c apparently, there is no Romanian word for syrup lol_

_PS: I am no expert on the language of Romania, so forgive me if the translation is not exact! _

_Until 17!_

**Chapter 16**

The flight to Romania had gone well, but unfortunately, Rafe seemed to forget one important aspect of traveling overseas: time change.

"I'm sorry. I forgot it would be one in the morning here," Rafe apologized when Alison realized the time.

Since it was so late and they were all tired from the trip anyway, Rafe decided the best thing to do was to get a hotel room for the night and head to Kovich Manor in the morning.

While Rafe paid the cab driver, Alison approached the man at the front desk. "Um…vorbiţi englezeşte?"

"Yes. How can I help you?" he asked.

"My husband and daughter and I need a room for the night."

"Do you have a reservation?"

"No. Did we need one?"

"There's a local festival this week, so unfortunately, most of our rooms are booked. I'm afraid I can only offer a single room. It's a bit smaller than our other rooms and there's only one bed."

"That's fine. My daughter's young. That's all we really need anyway."

As the man began looking up something on his computer, Rafe finally came over. Katrina was asleep in his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. "Did you get the room yet?"

"Just about. Where's our luggage?"

"The bellhop's loading it onto his cart."

"Name please?" the man asked.

"Kovich," Alison answered.

The man looked up from his computer, staring at Alison, then at Rafe, as if he wondered if he heard her right. "Did you say Kovich?"

"Yes."

"Excuse me for one moment," he said, then suddenly walked away from the counter.

Alison watched as he pulled aside a coworker and they whispered in hushed tones. The second man glanced over at them, then whispered something else to him.

"I think they're talking about us," Alison whispered.

"They're talking about me," Rafe said.

Alison looked at Rafe, about to ask him why on earth would they possibly be talking about him, but then it occurred to her. The name Kovich was obviously known around these parts.

The man finally came back, looking a lot more friendlier then he had before. "It looks like we can give you the suite instead. Bellhop, can you take the Kovich's luggage to Suite 402?"

"I thought you said you only had single rooms," Alison said.

The man smiled. "It just became available. Besides, I'm sure the suite will be more to your liking."

"The single room is just fine. We're only here for one night," Rafe said.

"Please, take the suite. I insist. And at no extra charge. Enjoy your stay!"

"Okay…thank you," Alison said, quite confused at what had just happened as she followed Rafe and the bellhop to the elevator.

"Your room," the bellhop said, opening the door and letting Rafe and Alison walk in.

The room was exquisite to say the least. There were two beds, side by side, an adjoining living room with a couch and TV, and a small kitchen area as well. Not to mention the bathroom, which was larger than any other ordinary hotel bathroom she had seen before.

The bellboy quickly unloaded their luggage and gave them a nod.

"Thank you," Alison replied, reaching into her purse to give him a tip.

The bellboy shook his head and smiled, refusing to except the money. "No, no. My pleasure. Have a good night." And with that, he was gone.

"Okay…that was strange. What just happened?" Alison asked, sitting her purse on the dresser and taking a look around the room. "First they hook us up with us this incredible room at no extra charge when they're already booked, and then the bellboy doesn't except my tip? Are people always this friendly in your country?"

Rafe pulled the covers back on one of the beds and carefully put Katrina down to sleep. "Well, my family is highly respected in this part of the world, if you know what I mean."

Alison nodded. She knew what he meant. Smiling, Alison walked over to Rafe, putting her arm around his waist. "I'm so glad we're here. I can't wait to see where you grew up."

Rafe pulled her closer, giving her forehead a kiss. "I can't wait to show you." Rafe looked down at Katrina, who had been asleep ever since the drive over to the hotel. "Look at her. She's out like a light."

"Have you ever seen anyone sleep that good before?"

"Yeah. _You_," he said with a laugh.

"Come on, let's go to bed too."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Alison awoke, she realized it was morning. The curtains were closed but cracked just enough to let a little sunlight into the room.

Looking over at the bed across from her, she noticed Katrina was not there. Alison closed her eyes again, feeling too sleepy to get up now, even though everyone else was.

In the background, she could hear footsteps, then voices.

"Daddy, can we go here?"

"Shh, not so loud. Your mother is still sleeping."

"Can we go visit this place, Daddy?" Katrina whispered.

Alison opened her eyes, watching them from across the room. Katrina was holding up a travel guide to Romania that she must have found in one of the drawers. She was pointing to some attraction in the book. Rafe took the guide, getting a closer look. "Sure, we can go see that."

"Today?"

"No, not today. But we'll go soon, alright?"

"Okay. Daddy, I'm hungry."

"Well let's order up some breakfast, shall we?"

Katrina nodded, grinning big.

"What do you want?"

"Um…some bacon! And some waffles! And lots of syrup!"

Rafe laughed. "Coming right up." Rafe picked up the phone, dialing the number for room service. "Hallo, serviciul de cameră?" Rafe patiently waited while he was put on hold.

Katrina laughed. "You're talking funny, Daddy!"

Rafe smiled. "I'm speaking Romanian. Da, I trec de la will asemănător trei ordine de la plăcintă platou. I trec de la will asemănător un ordine de ouă, slănină, şi suc de portocale. A putea I de asemenea a lua un bol de căpşuni? Oh, şi syrup. Cameră 402. Mulţumesc." Rafe then hung the phone up.

Katrina rolled with laugher. "Daddy, you sounded so funny! Say something else!"

Rafe scooped Katrina up in his arms and held her close to him. "Te iu besc, frumos prinţesă."

Katrina smiled big. "What did you say, Daddy?"

"I love you, beautiful princess."

Rafe gave her cheek a kiss and set her back down on her feet.

Katrina looked over towards her mother, still sleeping in bed. She decided that she had slept long enough. "Mommy?" Katrina said, climbing up on the bed and crawling over to her mother. "You _still_ sleeping?"

Alison's eyes were closed, but she was awake. She smiled. "Yes."

Katrina laughed. "No you're not, Mommy!"

Alison opened her eyes, seeing Katrina's face just inches from her. "Okay, I'll get up. But only after I get my morning hug and kiss."

Katrina laughed again as her mother wrapped her arms around her and pulled her closer. She gave Katrina a kiss on her cheek.

Katrina kissed her mother back, then pulled the covers down and kissed her mother's belly. "Hey, Gabe."

Alison smiled as she watched Katrina run off to the other side of the room, digging into her suitcase full of toys.

"So do I get a morning kiss and hug too?" Rafe asked, taking a seat on the bed.

Alison grinned, putting her hand on his chin and bringing his mouth to hers.

"I ordered some breakfast. It should be here in a little while."

"Is that what you were doing? I thought I heard you on the phone."

"I ordered our favorites."

"Well I can't wait. I'm starv…oh!"

"Are you okay?"

Alison threw the covers off of her and ran towards the bathroom. "Yeah, I'm fine! Gabe's kicking my bladder!" Two seconds later, the bathroom door closed.

Katrina looked up from her toys. "What did Mommy mean? What's Gabe doing?"

"He's making her have to pee," he whispered.

Katrina giggled. "Oh silly Gabe!"

About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door and a waiter wheeled their breakfast into the room. He neatly set the table before them, laying out all of their breakfast items before leaving.

As the three sat down for breakfast, Katrina began to tell her mother about how her father ordered it all up.

"You should have heard him, Mommy! He was speaking Ro...Ro….um…what is it, Daddy?"

"Romanian."

"Oh yeah! That!"

"Well you certainly ordered all the right stuff because this is just heavenly," Alison said, taking a bite of her food.

"You should try the strawberries," he said.

"Hey, Daddy!"

"Yes, Princess?"

"I can speak Romanian too!"

Rafe grinned. "Oh you can?"

"Yeah! Wanna hear?"

"Sure."

Katrina started spouting out all kinds of gibberish. "Gla ba la blah, blah, blah! Sala de la gee bee bee tra la la!"

Rafe laughed until his stomach hurt, and Alison laughed so hard she had to spit her juice out.

"You know what I said?" Katrina asked.

"What did you say, Princess?" Rafe said, still laughing.

"I said let's eat! This food looks GOOD!"


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: Girls, in case I don't say it often enough, thanks so much for reading my story! It makes me happy to hear how much you're enjoying it! _

_And I'm so thrilled you love Katrina as much as I do! I wish you could see her in my mind…she's cute as pie:) I was telling Gracie a while backthat sometimes, I feel like Katrina dominates the whole story. But clearly there are no complaints about that since you all love this little girl so much…so I'll be happy to write her as much as I feel like it LOL! It's just that I've ALWAYS wanted to see how Rafe and Alison would be as parents, and since PC never gave us that chance, it's up to me to fix that problem lol!_

_Now, one more thing: I've made up my own history when it comes to Rafe's family, which you may be familiar with if you can still remember my first Rali story. In the next few chapters, I'll be exploring more of Rafe's past. Please let me know if there's any confusion or questions, or if you just need a little clarification, and I'll do my best to clear things up! Or if there is anything in particular you would like to hear more about...just let me know! _

_Well, until 18!_

**Changes 17**

After checking out of the hotel, Rafe rented a car and drove them to his old home. It was strange driving back, seeing all of the familiar road signs and landmarks. Apparently, not much had changed around here since his last visit.

Rafe turned off the main street and onto a private road leading through a wooded area. The road was full of many twists and turns, winding its way around the trees. Finally, there was a clearing.

Rafe continued to follow the path, driving under an arch that had the words "Kovich Manor" carved into the black iron rail.

"This is the longest driveway _ever_!" Katrina said from the back.

Rafe laughed. "We're almost there, Princess."

"The grounds looked well-kept," Alison said, looking out at the grassy fields surrounding the property.

"I've had someone keep an eye on the place," Rafe explained.

"Daddy! Look!" Katrina shouted, pointing excitedly.

"There it is," Rafe announced. And sure enough, over the hill and hiding behind some trees, a house slowly came into view. The closer they got to it, the bigger it appeared.

Alison gasped. "Oh my god. Rafe, I knew it was big but I never imagined it was quite so grand!"

The house was very majestic, and obviously very old, as Rafe's family had lived there for generations. But it was obvious it had undergone many improvements throughout the years, making it more modern with changing times.

"It looks like a giant dollhouse," Katrina declared.

Rafe drove around to the front and into the circular driveway, stopping just in front of the house under the shade of a huge tree. He looked to the back and gave Katrina a smile. "How about we go check out this oversized dollhouse?"

"Yeah!" Katrina cheered, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the car door.

By the time Rafe and Alison had gotten out of the car, Katrina was already up on the porch, repeatedly turning the locked doorknob.

"I suppose the luggage can wait," Rafe said with a laugh, seeing how anxious his daughter was to get inside.

Rafe took Alison's hand, leading her to the house. "Watch that bottom step. It's a little loose."

"Daddy! Come on! Open the door!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Rafe patted his shirt pocket, then checked the pockets of his jeans.

Alison watched as Rafe frantically checked and rechecked every pocket on his body. "Rafe? You do have the key, don't you?"

He patted his shirt pocket once again. "Oh no."

"Rafe! Tell me you didn't lose the key!"

Rafe looked at her sheepishly. "I left it."

"At the hotel?"

"No. In Port Charles."

"WHAT?"

Rafe started to laugh, pulling the key out from his shirt pocket. "Just kidding."

"Rafe Kovich!" Alison gave him a smack on his arm. "Not funny!"

Katrina laughed. "That was a good one, Daddy!"

"Okay, enough joking around," he said with a laugh, putting the key into the lock and turning the doorknob.

Katrina helped push the door in and was the first inside. Rafe motioned for Alison to go ahead. He followed, closing the door behind them.

"Wow," Katrina whispered, looking around at how big this place was.

Alison walked over to the windows, opening the blinds to let a little sunshine in. All of the furniture was covered in dusty sheets, and there were spider webs in every corner. The wallpaper looked old and was peeling in several places. But despite all this, she thought the place was still beautiful. It had a certain charm to it.

Rafe thought going home wouldn't be such a big deal, but the moment he stepped inside, all he could think about was growing up in here.

Looking at the staircase, he could remember running up and down them as a child, even sliding down the banister a time or two when no one was watching.

Above them hung the familiar crystal chandelier. He thought of the time he threw a ball in the house and it broke a piece of it off by accident. He had been too scared to say anything to his father about it, knowing how many times he was told not to throw that ball inside.

Over by the window, he saw the old blue cushion in the window seat. It was a place his mother would sit often, waiting for his father to come home, and after his death, to remember.

"Rafe?"

Rafe turned around, realizing Alison had spoken his name. "Yeah?"

Alison walked over to him, putting a hand on his arm. "Are you okay? You just got really quiet all of a sudden."

"I'm fine. It's just being here after so long…you know?"

Alison nodded. Somehow she knew once Rafe walked through that door, he'd be flooded with memories, some good, and others sad. Alison smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "Well how about you show us around? Give us the grand tour?"

"Yeah! Give us the grand tour!" Katrina hopped up and down.

Rafe smiled. "Okay. Right this way."

Rafe showed them just about everything.

Alison realized there were many more rooms in this house than she thought. It seemed like every time they turned a corner, there was another room. It reminded her a lot of her nana's mansion, the way it was so big, only this house felt more like a home. The mansion had always felt lonely, while the manor felt inviting.

The living room was probably the biggest room. A brick fireplace stood in the center, which Alison imagined must have kept everyone warm during the cold Romanian winters. By the window, an old Victrola sat on a table. And according to Rafe, it still played music.

Rafe showed them the kitchen and told them about their cook Corinna, who always had time to make Rafe a peanut butter sandwich.

He showed them around the dining area, where a beautiful antique wood and glass cabinet held precious china and dinnerware, imported all the way from London.

He showed them the library, full of books his mother especially enjoyed to read, and down the hall, the study, where he remembered his father spending a lot of time in.

As they made their way to the staircase, Katrina stopped in the hallway, pausing to look at a painting on the wall.

The painting was of a beautiful woman with long, dark hair and wearing a white, silky dress. She had seen pictures of her before, but never quite like this one.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Princess?"

"Is that Grandma?"

Rafe walked over to the painting to get a closer look. He smiled, remembering this painting. He hadn't thought about it in years. "Yes. That's your grandmother."

Katrina smiled at her father. "She's pretty!"

Alison joined them, getting a look as well. "Oh, Rafe, she's so beautiful. We'll definitely have to take this back home to Port Charles with us."

"My uncle painted this. He gave it to her as a birthday present."

"Daddy, what's that say?" Katrina pointed to some words at the bottom.

Rafe read from the inscription.

"_To Kat: May you be as happy tomorrow as you are today. Love, Martin"_

Katrina looked up at her father in confusion. "That's not her name. Her name is _Katrina_ like me. It's missing some letters!"

Rafe laughed. "That was just her nickname, Princess."

"What's a nickname?"

"Oh, you know, just some other name you might call someone. Like how we call your brother 'Gabe'. It's short for Gabriel. And like how I call you 'Princess'."

"And like how you call Mommy 'Angel'?" she asked, grinning widely.

Rafe smiled, scooping her up in his arms. "That's right."

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"I think I'll call her Grandma Kat, so that way, you won't confuse _this_ Katrina," she pointed to herself, "with _that_ Katrina," she said, pointing to the painting.

Rafe and Alison both laughed.

"Well that's a good idea, Princess. I think my mother would like to be called that."

"Can we go see upstairs now?" Katrina begged.

"Of course."

Upstairs, he showed them all of the rooms, pointing out who slept in which room.

Katrina decided her favorite room was the one by the staircase, and she was excited to learn that this was actually her daddy's old room!

"I wanna sleep in YOUR old room, Daddy!" she begged.

Rafe smiled. "I think that can be arranged."

Outside, Rafe couldn't wait to show Alison his mother's garden, filled with beautiful roses. Alison was impressed that the garden still looked beautiful and not overrun with weeds at all.

Back inside, after bringing in their bags from the car, Alison whipped out a box of noodles and a jar of sauce from her suitcase.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm starving. Pasta, anyone?"

"Sounds great," Rafe said with a smile. Alison sure thought of everything. He hadn't even thought of what they would eat yet!

A few seconds later, Alison poked her head back inside the den. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I couldn't find any toilet paper in the bathroom, so I put some in there."

Rafe had to think about that for a moment. "Where did you get toilet paper?"

"I snagged some from the hotel. You know, until we can go get supplies," she explained.

Alison headed back to the kitchen, leaving Rafe grinning. Yep, Alison thought of _everything_. What would he do without her?

"Daddy, who's this?" Katrina asked, picking up a framed photograph sitting on the end table. "Is that you when you were a little kid?"

Rafe walked over to where Katrina stood and took the photograph, getting a closer look. Rafe had almost forgotten all about this photograph. In the picture, Rafe was smiling, sitting on his father's shoulders. It was one of his mother's favorite pictures.

"Yeah, that's me when I was little. And that's your grandpa."

"How old were you, Daddy?"

"I think I was your age," he said with a smile.

Katrina looked up at her father and grinned. "I wanna see more pictures!"

"Alright. There's lot of pictures of here." Rafe reached up and grabbed a photo album from the shelf. A few years ago, he had sent for some of his mother's photo albums, but there were many more here that he hadn't looked at in years.

Rafe took a seat on the couch, inviting Katrina to sit beside him. He cracked open the photo album, and together, they looked at some very old pictures.

Rafe didn't recognize any of the faces. They were family members long gone, some pictures taken as early as the late 1800s.

"Who's that lady, Daddy?" Katrina asked, pointing to a woman in the album. "She looks like Lucy!"

Katrina wasn't kidding. Rafe had to blink his eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him.

"You're right. She _does_ look Lucy!" Rafe carefully took the photograph out of the album, flipping it over to read the back where he hoped a name would be. He smiled at the irony of it all. "Lucia Kovich."

"Who's she?"

"Just one of our ancestors. Probably a distant cousin."

They looked at pictures for a little while longer. Then suddenly, Katrina moved the album aside and got up from the couch.

"Daddy, can we look at pictures later?" she asked.

"Sure. You want to do something else?"

"I just gotta pee!"

Rafe laughed. "You remember where the bathroom is?"

"Yeah!" Katrina said as she ran out of the room.

Rafe looked again at the picture of Lucia Kovich. He decided to show Alison.

Walking into the kitchen, he saw Alison had already found her way around.

"This has to be the biggest kitchen I've ever cooked in," Alison said with a laugh when she saw him standing in the doorway.

Alison went back to the stove, stirring the noodles she had in a boiling pot of water.

Rafe walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. He gave the back of her shoulder a kiss. "Well I can't wait to eat. I'm suddenly very hungry."

Alison turned around and looked at him. "You won't have to wait too much longer. I'll have this ready in no time," she said with a smile, then giving him a kiss.

"Hey, I want to show you something."

"Okay."

Rafe handed her the photograph. "Look at this picture."

Alison took the photograph, studying it for a moment. "Is that _Lucy_? Wait, can't be. This is a pretty old photograph."

"Her name is Lucia Kovich. Can you believe that?"

"The resemblance is uncanny."

"Not to mention the _name_. I'll have to bring this home to Lucy. She'll get a kick out of it."

"Knowing Lucy, she'll probably try to channel her through a séance or something."

Rafe took a seat at the table, looking at the picture again. "You know, I never thought about it until now. Lucy never did get to see this place. I mean, she's a Kovich too. This house belongs to her just as much as it does to me. It has a lot of history when it comes to our family."

"Well, that's true, but Lucy never grew up here."

"Right."

Rafe looked like he was going to say something else, but he remained quiet, staring at the photograph of Lucia Kovich.

Just then, Katrina ran into the room, running to her mother and tugging on her dress. "Mommy, is it almost ready?"

"Yep, almost. You hungry, baby?"

"Yeah! My stomach is grumbly!"

Rafe laughed. "It's 'grumbly' eh?"

"Yeah. Can't you hear it growling?"

"No, but only because mine is growling louder."

Katrina laughed at her dad, then pulled out the chair to take the seat next to him.

A few minutes later, Alison announced that it was ready. She placed three plates on the table and joined them. And together, they had lunch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening, after Alison had tucked Katrina in for the night, she meandered downstairs, wondering where Rafe had gone off too.

"Rafe?" she called out, but there was no answer.

It was a big house, and it was possible that Rafe could be just about anywhere and not hear her calling. Then she noticed the back door ajar. Rafe must have stepped outside. Alison opened the screen door and stepped out onto the porch. Sure enough, there was Rafe. He was sitting on the porch rail with his head against the post, looking up at the sky.

Rafe had been pretty quiet since they arrived at the house. Several times throughout the day, she'd catch Rafe staring into space, lost in his thoughts.

"Warm night, huh?" Alison said.

Rafe turned at the sound of her voice. "You can turn that fan on," he said, pointing up at the ceiling fan.

Alison flipped the switch on the wall, and then took a seat on the porch swing.

"Katrina asleep?"

"Yeah. She was very excited to be sleeping in her daddy's old bed."

Rafe looked back up to the sky, lost in his own little world again.

They said nothing for a while, hearing only the sound of the crickets chirping and the fan whirling above them.

"Look at those stars, Alison," he finally said. "You forget there are so many of them until you look at them in a place where the city lights aren't in the way."

"Rafe?"

Rafe turned to Alison. "Yeah?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. This place just makes me think of my parents, that's all." Rafe's attention turned back to the sky.

"No, Rafe, don't do this to me. I've known you long enough to know when something's bothering you. So what is it?"

Rafe looked at the fields and trees in the distance. The moon was shining bright tonight, casting a silver light over everything. "I think I made a mistake," he said softly.

"What do you mean?"

He turned his head, looking Alison in the eye. "Deciding to sell this place."

Rafe stood up and moved to sit in the swing with Alison. "You warned me about this. The day I told you I'd sell this house, you asked me if I was sure it was what I wanted to do. I remember what I told you, that my home is in Port Charles with you, and that's true. But I lied when I said it was time to let this place go. I remember what it was like growing up here. My parents loved this place. And I just keep wondering what they must be thinking of me. My family has lived here for centuries, Alison. _Centuries_! And I'm just going to throw it all away? I mean, what the hell was I thinking?"

Alison put her hands over Rafe's. "Rafe, sweetheart, you don't have to sell this house if don't want to. It's not too late to change your mind."

"Yes it is, Alison. The whole point of this trip, the reason why I decided to sell it in the first place was so that we'd have the money to make payments on our new house. If I don't sell this place, where would we get the money, Alison?"

"We'd manage, just like everybody else."

"I don't know what to do, Alison."

Alison linked her arm around his, holding him tight. "You know what I think you should do?"

He looked at her and gave a little smile. "What's that?"

"I think you should stop worrying about all of this tonight. You don't have to make a decision tomorrow. There's plenty of time for that. I think we should spend the time we're here fixing this place up, because it needs it. And we'll think of something to do. If you don't want to let go of this place, no one is going to force you to, Rafe. We'll figure out a way to keep it. But for now, I think we should just sleep."

Rafe smiled. "You're right. We can worry about this another day."

"You wanna feel the baby?" she said softly, changing the subject.

Rafe placed his hand on her belly, feeling his son kick inside her. "Well we might have sleep on our mind, but I think this little guy's ready to play."

"He just takes after his daddy, that's all."

"Well I'm sure he does but he's going to need to learn that once it's bedtime, playtime is over."

Alison laughed out loud. "You're one to talk! I think Daddy is still trying to learn that lesson."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on. Don't try to deny all those times you wake me up in the middle of the night to play your little game of spoon and fork."

Rafe looked at her quizzically, laugher in his eyes. "_Spoon and fork?"_

Alison grinned. "Call it what you want."

"Well I know you enjoy it," Rafe countered. "Can you really say you'd rather I didn't play after my bedtime?"

He never gave Alison a chance to answer as he moved closer and kissed her lips.

Rafe slowly pulled away, looking into her eyes as his thumb brushed the soft skin of her cheek.

"Come on," Alison whispered as she slowly rose to her feet. She held out her hand to Rafe, and together, they headed back inside.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **Katie, I too am glad that PC never really delved into Rafe's history, because it **is** more fun to make it up on my own :) Besides, I think my history is better than the little history of the Kovich family that they DID give us hehe.

Glad you all enjoyed hearing about Rafe's past. As far as Kovich Manor is concerned, I always imagined it would be quite grand, because I remember a comment Kevin made once when he and Lucy were in the cemetery. He said it appeared the Koviches were an aristocracy. So Kovich Manor had to live up to that expectation lol.

Anyway, I think you'll enjoy this chapter. When I wrote it, apparently I was in the gutter! LOL! ;)

Until 19! Sorry it's short but better short than waiting 2 weeks for me to make it even longer lol!

**Changes 18**

"Good morning," she heard him whisper into her ear.

"Mmm…good morning," she said with a smile.

Alison loved mornings like this. The way his arms felt so protective and loving around her. The warmness of his skin against her back. The feel of his gentle kisses on her shoulders.

Rafe inched closer to her, kissing her softly as he made them one. They lay motionless for a moment, Rafe holding on to her in an intimate embrace.

Then they started to move together slowly, then not so slowly, each trying to reach that one point of perfect bliss.

Alison's breathing hitched, and though she tried not to, a moan escaped her lips. Every time she'd make a sound, Rafe would react to it. And as he moved faster, Alison felt dizzy until she thought she would absolutely burst.

They were on the brink of it, and they both knew it. Oh how perfect it was when they were able to arrive there at the exact same moment, just knocking on heaven's door until finally, they were there.

And then, just as quickly as it started, it was over. Rafe still held on to her, and they lay like that for a while, waiting for breathing to return to normal.

"Happy anniversary," Rafe whispered into her ear.

She smiled. What a perfect way to start off their sixth year of marriage. "Happy anniversary."

Alison felt herself drift off to sleep. Why did making love make you so tired? She felt so drowsy, almost drugged. Maybe it was because you worked so hard to break a sweat that it was just the body's way of saying to take a rest.

She was somewhat aware of Rafe, slowly moving away and getting out of the bed. She heard a door close and then the sound of water running in the bathroom.

Alison was already asleep again when she felt Rafe awake her, pressing his lips against her cheek. She opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"You rest a little while longer," he whispered. "When you get up, I have a surprise for you."

"Surprise? Rafe, you didn't go out and buy me something expensive, did you? I thought we said we weren't going to do that sort of thing this year."

"It's not that kind of surprise," he said with a grin, kissing her again on her cheek. "Go back to sleep."

Alison watched as Rafe walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Then she closed her eyes, deciding to sleep for just a little while longer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Downstairs, Rafe sat in the armchair and began putting on his shoes. Moments later, he heard a door opening upstairs and watched as a sleepy-looking Katrina made her way down. She wore her Care Bears nightgown and those fuzzy pink slippers that she insisted she needed to have which Alison bought for her. Her hair was all in tangles and her eyes looked tired.

Rafe smiled. "Good morning, Princess."

Katrina didn't answer, but simply walked over to her father and kissed him on the cheek. Then she headed for the couch to lie down.

"Someone's a sleepyhead this morning," he said with a laugh.

Katrina's eyes fluttered as if she might go back to sleep but she fought to keep them open.

"Did you sleep good?" Rafe asked.

Katrina nodded yes.

"I bet it was fun sleeping in my old room, huh?" he asked, but Katrina was so tired that she didn't answer.

Rafe put his other shoe on and began to tie the laces.

Katrina yawned and stretched her little arms out. "Daddy, I wanna watch cartoons."

"Hmm." Rafe looked towards the old television in the corner. It was one of those big sets with a dial to change the channel. "Well, Princess, I don't know if we can get cartoons on this old thing."

Rafe stood up and walked over to the TV, turning the power knob. He turned the dial, getting mostly snow, but he did manage to find one channel that picked up, albeit a grainy picture. And unfortunately, it wasn't a cartoon. Just two old men talking about the news.

Rafe turned to Katrina regretfully. "Sorry, Princess. No cartoons. Just this channel with the people speaking that funny language. You want to keep this on?"

Katrina nodded yes. She would listen to the men talking in the funny language. Maybe they would show cartoons in a little bit, she figured.

As Rafe walked away from the television, Katrina noticed he had his shoes on. "Daddy? Where you going?"

"I'm going outside to pick flowers for your mother. Shh, don't tell her!" he said, putting his finger to his lips.

Katrina smiled. She loved secrets.

"If she comes downstairs and asks where I am, say you don't know, alright?"

"Okay."

"That's my girl," he said, kissing her forehead before heading out of the room.

Not long after, Alison headed down the stairs, tying the string to her robe around her belly. She heard the television and soon realized Katrina was laying down on the couch, trying to wake up.

"Hi, sweetie." Alison walked over to her daughter and gave her a kiss. "Where's your daddy?"

"Um," she said, remembering Daddy said not to tell her where he was. "I don't know."

"What are you watching, baby?" Alison asked with a laugh, sitting down at the other end of the couch and looking at the television.

"Daddy couldn't find cartoons."

"I'm sorry, baby. But you know what? We're going to have so much fun that you probably won't even miss TV."

"Mommy?"

"Yeah?"

"How come they speak all funny like that?"

"It's just a different language, that's all. You know how on _Dora_, she speaks Spanish sometimes?"

Katrina nodded.

"Well Spanish is another language, and so is Romanian. You know, some people here might think _we_ speak funny, because we speak English."

Just then, Katrina looked up, seeing her father walk back in with a handful of pink roses. She started to say something, but Rafe held his finger to his lip, telling her to be quiet.

Katrina smiled as she watched her father cover Mommy's eyes, taking her by surprise.

"Guess who," he said.

Alison laughed. "Hmm, well I can't say for sure, but I have a feeling that whoever it is, he's really handsome."

Katrina laughed. Mommy knew it was Daddy! She was just playing!

Rafe removed his hand and moved in front of her. "You're right. He _is_ really handsome." He grinned, then kissed her on the lips.

Katrina rolled her eyes. Her parents were always being so _mushy_.

Rafe then held up the roses he had been holding.

"Oh, Rafe, they're beautiful," she said, taking the roses and putting them to her nose.

"You know I'd never let an anniversary pass by without giving you pink roses," he said with a smile.

"I love them."

"Your flowers are pretty, Mommy!"

"Oh I didn't forget you, Princess." Rafe had been hiding a single pink rose behind his back and handed it to his daughter.

"Oh thank you, Daddy!" She grabbed the rose and smelled it. She loved these kinds of roses. Daddy always made sure to give her the really fat ones!

"You're welcome. Listen," he said to Alison, "How about we go out for breakfast this morning? There's a diner not far from here that has a really good breakfast menu. Then I want to show you something."

Alison grinned. "Show me what?"

"Just something."

Alison wondered what it could be, but decided it was best to just be surprised. "Okay…that sounds good. Let me just go take a shower and get dressed."

"Alright."

"Will you put my roses in some water?" she asked, handing him the flowers.

"Sure."

"Me too, Daddy. Will you put mine in some water?"

Rafe took her rose as well. "Of course."

"Alright, sweetie, come on upstairs and let's pick out some clothes for you to wear." Alison stood up, taking Katrina's hand and leading her to the stairs.

"I wanna wear my jean shorts today, Mommy! You know, the one with the flower on the _butt_!"

Alison laughed. "Okay."


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: Dear readers, sorry it's been such a while since I posted! I've been struggling with this chapter for whatever reason for so long and I'm so glad to have it finally done! LOL. So here it is!__ And Erin, you can thank my summer reading list for my little trip to the gutter in the last chapter. I guess I got a little inspired ;-)_

_Well, until 20, which hopefully will not take as long to post as this one did!_

**Changes 19**

After breakfast, Alison found out where Rafe was taking her. They took a few back roads until they came upon a very old looking, but beautiful church.

"What is this place?" Katrina asked, rising up in her seat, trying to get a better look.

"It's a church, Princess."

"Is it Sunday?"

Rafe laughed. "No, it's not, but I'm sure we can still go inside."

"It's really beautiful," Alison said, opening her car door and stepping out. Katrina got out of the car on her side and Alison held out a hand as she climbed out.

"I want to show you the grounds first. There's a garden in the back."

Rafe led them through a path that opened up into a beautiful garden. There were plenty of trees surrounding the area. Rays of sunlight broke through the trees. It was the perfect balance of sunlight and shade.

In the center, there was a fountain. It had an angel up at the top, and a stream of water fell from the statue into the pool of water below.

"Ooo!" Katrina shouted when she saw the fountain, running over to it and putting her hands in the water.

"Katrina! That water's dirty!" Alison gently scolded.

Katrina took her hands out, wiping them on her shirt. "Look, Mommy, it's a wishing fountain. You can throw pennies in it and make a wish!" She held up a coin she had fished out of there.

"Well why don't you throw that coin back in and make a wish?"

Katrina grinned, then did just that.

"When I was little, my mother would take me here."

Alison smiled, taking hold of Rafe's hand. "Is that why you wanted to come here?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen this place in so long. This was always such a special place for her."

"Is this where your parents were married?"

Rafe smiled. "Yeah."

"What a beautiful church to get married in."

Suddenly, Rafe felt Katrina tugging on his shirt. "Daddy, I gotta go!"

"Okay, we'll go inside and find a bathroom."

Katrina skipped ahead of them, running to the door and waiting as her parents slowly made their way over.

"Come on! I gotta go _now_!"

By then, Rafe had reached the door. He opened it and pointed down a little hallway where the facilities were located. Katrina wasted no time, running to the bathroom in a hurry.

Rafe held the door open for Alison as she walked inside the building. Just ahead of them, two double doors were wide open, showing the inside of the church.

"What do you think?" he asked as they entered the main part of the church.

"Oh, it's so beautiful, Rafe."

Alison walked down the aisle, running her fingers along the smooth wooden benches as she passed by. When she reached the front, she admired the statues and ornate decorations. Everything looked as if it were a picture out of a book.

"Come here," Rafe said, taking her hand.

"Okay." Alison followed Rafe over to the first row of seats and sat down beside him on the bench.

"I wanted to come here because this place was special for my parents, but also, I wanted to show you. Every member of the Kovich family, well, I shouldn't say every, but almost every Kovich in my family was married in this very church."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm sure if my mother had lived and I had stayed on here in Romania, I probably would have too."

"And who on earth would you have married?" Alison asked with a grin.

"Well you of course. Nobody could ever compare to you. We would have found each other. No doubt about that."

Alison smiled. She sometimes wondered what life would have been like if Rafe had lived and how their paths would have crossed. But she knew Rafe was right. They would have found each other anyway.

Suddenly, Katrina came running into the church. The first thing she noticed were the windows.

"Ooo! These windows are pretty!"

"Princess, shh," Rafe said, putting his finger to lips.

Katrina covered her mouth. She didn't mean to be so loud. She guessed it didn't matter if there was no one in the church or not. Daddy always shushed her when she got too loud in church.

Katrina walked over to the windows, running her finger along the stained glass as she said each color's name. "Blue, red, green, purple, yellow." She walked over to the next window. It looked exactly like the other one, same colors, same shapes.

When she became bored with the windows, she went over the last row and took a seat. She touched the cushion. It was red and velvety and very, very soft. She put her hands on the back of the bench ahead of her and when it was obvious her parents weren't watching her, she climbed over it. What fun!

"Well I tell you what," Alison said, taking Rafe's hands. "One day in the future, like when we're celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary or something, we'll come here to this church and have another wedding. We'll renew our vows here."

"Yeah, we could do that. I have another idea though."

"What's that?"

"Let's not wait. Let's get married today."

Alison laughed. "What?"

"Let's get married again. Come on, what better day to do this then on our anniversary? And since we're already here, why not?"

Alison smiled. "Well, what do you mean get married again? Like, for real? Like, with a reverend? Like dressing up and having a wedding?"

"Like right now," he laughed, standing up and taking her hand. He led her up to the front of the altar. "Just us. We don't need a reverend, and we don't need to dress up."

Alison gave him the biggest smile. "You always know the perfect way to surprise me, Rafe Kovich."

They joined hands as they stood at the end of the aisle.

Rafe gave her a smile as he began. "I, Rafe, take you Alison, to be my wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part."

"And I, Alison, take you Rafe, to be my husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part."

"Hey! You guys playing 'wedding'?" Katrina suddenly asked, interrupting their moment.

Rafe and Alison looked at their daughter and laughed.

"Something like that, Princess."

"I wanna play!" she begged, moving to stand in front of them. She looked up at her mother. "Mommy, do you take Daddy?"

Alison laughed. "Yes, I do."

"And, Daddy, do you take Mommy?"

Rafe smiled. "I do."

"Well now you're husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!"

Rafe and Alison moved closer and kissed…and kissed, and kissed.

Katrina sat down on the bench and sighed. She should have known when she told them to kiss, they would be kissing for a long time!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Mommy, whatcha doing?" Katrina stood on her tip toes, trying to see what her mother had on the kitchen counter.

"I'm preparing a romantic dinner for your daddy and I."

"What's a 'romantic dinner'? You mean like _kissing_?"

Alison laughed. "Well…it's more like a celebration. It's our anniversary."

"What's 'anniversary'?"

"It's kind of like a birthday. Daddy and I have been married for six years today."

"Oh."

Katrina followed her mother into the dining room and watched as she carried the food to the table and set out the dinnerware. Alison grabbed a lighter out of her apron and lit the two long candles in the center of the table.

"Oh, I forgot the glasses."

While her mother went back to the kitchen, Katrina watched the candles, almost mesmerized by then. They looked like giant birthday candles. She wondered if they were as easy to blow out as regular candles.

Katrina filled her cheeks up with air, then let out a breath, blowing out the candles. She laughed as she watched a curl of smoke rise to the ceiling.

"Okay, I've got the glasses, and the plates set out. And…." Alison put her hands on her hips and gave her daughter a stern look. "Katrina."

Katrina giggled. "I had to make a wish, Mommy!"

Alison took the lighter and relit the candles. "Well please don't blow them out this time."

Alison looked around, wondering if there was anything she was missing. She looked down at her apron. Oh yeah. Might be a good idea to take that off. She untied the straps and carried it back to the kitchen. Underneath the apron, she wore a simple summer dress, a dress which she loved. It was perfect enough to fit her growing belly, and yet, it didn't make her look fat, and that was the important thing.

"Katrina, why don't you go upstairs and play for a while? And can you go get Daddy for me?"

"Okay." Katrina knew all too well what that meant. Anytime her mother sent her to another room to play, it usually meant Mommy and Daddy wanted some grown up time. Sometimes being a kid stinks. You miss out on all of the fun.

Katrina headed out of the room and down the hallway, passing her father along the way. "Mommy's got a romantic dinner for you, Daddy!" she said, then ran past her father.

Rafe laughed. Romantic dinner?

A few moments later, he stepped into the dining room, looking at the table set before them.

Alison looked up, putting the finishing touches on everything. "Oh good, you're just in time."

Rafe gave his wife a smile as he looked at the table setting before them. "What is this?"

Alison laughed. "What does it look like? All your favorites. Candles. Dinner for two. We're celebrating of course."

"Dinner for two? Katrina's not joining us?"

"She's eaten already. I thought we could use the alone time. Oh wait, there's just one more thing."

Alison went over to the light switch and turned the lights down low. "There. Now it's perfect."

"So are you," Rafe said, walking over to Alison and kissing her lips.

During dinner, they kept smiling at each other. When was the last time they did something like this? Neither could remember. As much as they loved Katrina, they had to admit, having kids left little time for things like this.

When all of the dishes were cleared and dinner was over, Rafe had another surprise for Alison. She followed the sound of music coming from the living room.

"What are you doing?" Alison asked.

"I thought I'd put on some music. I'd really love to dance with my wife."

Alison grinned and walked over to Rafe. "I'd love to."

He took her into his arms and glided her across the room. Every time they danced, it made her think of the first dance they ever shared. They had certainly come a long way since that first dance at Lucy and Kevin's Christmas Eve wedding.

Upstairs, Katrina heard the music too. She sat on the steps and watched her parents, dancing and laughing. Katrina smiled, imagining them dressed up in fancy clothes and dancing at a ball, just like in the fairy tales.

"They're going to kiss again, Bernie," she whispered to her teddy bear. And just as the words left her mouth, her parents did just that. "See, told ya."

In her mind, Bernie answered back. "Yep, they sure do kiss a lot!"


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: Amy, you had a very good question. I haven't decided if Rafe and Alison will ever tell their kids about how Rafe was formally an angel. I think they will tell them about the vampire stuff, or at least some of it, b/c Rafe is a vampire slayer and it's a part of Rafe's heritage. _

_However, the angel stuff is a little more complicated. You see, in my story, Livvie is still the only other person that knows Rafe was once an angel from when Caleb had her under his control. Lucy hasn't a clue. As far as she is concerned, Rafe's never been dead lol. To her, it's just a happy coincidence (or fate rather) that she met up with her long lost cousin in Transylvania :) So I guess we'll see what happens! In the meantime, here's 20! Thanks for reading, girls:)_

**Changes 20**

"What are you doing?" Rafe demanded as he walked into the den. Normally, he'd think Alison was rather cute wearing her bandana and shorts and those old Keds with paint all over them. But there she was, standing on a chair with a broom in her hand, running it all along the wall.

Alison turned around at the sound of Rafe's voice. "I'm getting rid of these cobwebs. They're really disgusting."

"Alison, please come down from there," he said, trying to make his voice as calm as possible.

"Why?"

"Because you're making me really nervous, that's why," he said in a more stern voice.

"Okay, fine." Alison stepped down from the chair, but not without Rafe taking her hand and helping her down. "Rafe…" she started.

"Alison, I'm sorry, but I just don't feel comfortable with you standing on chairs and doing all of this housework when you're pregnant. What if you fell and I wasn't here?"

Alison sighed. She didn't want to argue with Rafe but this sort of thing got annoying after a while. "Rafe, relax. You worry about every little thing I do."

"Well I'm not going to apologize for that. All I ever wanted to do was to keep you safe but you make it really hard for me when you go and do things like stand on a chair."

"Rafe…"

"No, listen. I know you're just trying to help out, and I love you for that. But I want you to take it easy. This is your _vacation_, all right? You should just relax, take care of yourself and the baby."

"But, Rafe, this is a big house. You can't do everything yourself. It's a lot of cleaning and a lot of work. You have to let me help you sometime."

Rafe sighed. Why did she always have to be so stubborn? "Just promise me that you won't be standing on anymore chairs. Okay?"

Alison smiled. That was a compromise she was willing to take. "I promise."

"Thank you."

Alison gave him a kiss, then happily handed him the broom. "Well, looks like you better get to work. This house has a lot of rooms and just as many cobwebs." She gave him a smile, then sauntered out of the room.

Rafe frowned. Cleaning cobwebs wasn't something he felt like doing at the moment. But now, it looked like he had no choice.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina loved it here. There were so many rooms to explore, so many things to do!

Today, she decided she would explore the rooms downstairs. Walking down the hallway, she opened up each door, peeked inside, and closed it again. If the room looked interesting, she'd walk in and look around. Sometimes, there would be things in the room that she liked, like funny looking lamps and small figurines on the tables.

In one room, she found something really special. At first, it looked like a fancy little wooden box, but when she opened it, she saw there was a ballerina standing inside. In the back, there was a tiny knob that turned. It was a music box! Katrina wound it up and laughed as the ballerina started to turn around and around to the sound of the music.

"Princess?"

Katrina looked over to the doorway, seeing her father. "Daddy, look at this!"

"Oh, what did you find?"

"A music box. Look, Daddy. The ballerina dances to the music. See?"

Rafe smiled, taking the music box and getting a closer look. "I remember this. This was your grandmother's."

"Grandma Kat?"

"Yeah. She always liked ballerinas, and she always loved music."

Katrina smiled. "I like ballerinas and music too!"

"You know what, Princess?"

"What?"

"Why don't you keep this? I think she would want you to have it." Rafe handed the music box back to her.

"I can keep it? Really?"

"Sure."

"Oh boy! I'm gonna show Mommy!" Katrina raced out of the room, calling out for her mother.

Rafe was about to leave the room when suddenly, he realized.

This was his mother's room.

Not her bedroom, but more like her sitting room. When he was young, he'd find her here sometimes, sitting down in the big armchair in the corner, writing in her journal, or reading a book. This was the room where she did her sewing, and where she put together scrapbooks and photo albums.

He could still feel her presence here.

Rafe walked over to the bureau, running his finger along the wood and making a trail in the dust. He opened the small drawer. There were scraps of paper everywhere, newspaper clippings, spools of thread, and other odds and ends.

In the back of the drawer, he noticed an old, beat up spiral-ringed notebook. He picked it up, realizing it was a day planner.

Rafe sat down in the chair, reading some of the writing. He hadn't looked at his mother's handwriting in years. She always wrote big and in cursive.

As he flipped through the pages, a name caught his attention. Dr. Novotny. His mother had scribbled his name at the bottom along with a phone number and appointment time.

Rafe closed the book. He didn't like to think about the time his mother became sick. It was the summer he was thirteen. Everything had happened so suddenly. The headaches. The dizzy spells. All he could think about when he thought of that summer was the image of his mother laying in her bed, sick with the tumor that had eventually taken her away from him, and Dr. Novotny shaking his head, saying there wasn't anything anyone could do.

"Daddy?"

Rafe looked up, not realizing Katrina had been standing there. He put on a smile. "What is it, Princess?"

"How does the ballerina turn around?" She held up the music box, which she was still preoccupied with.

Rafe brought Katrina to his lap. He held the music box up close to where they could both see it. "You know, Princess, I don't really know. I'm sure there are parts inside that we can't see that move whenever you turn the handle."

"And that makes it make the music too?"

"Sure."

Katrina set the box on the table and turned the knob. Once again, the ballerina began to spin as the music played. "I can be like her, Daddy. Watch."

Katrina hopped out of her father's lap and walked over to the center of the rug. She put her arms up over her head and began to spin around like a ballerina.

"It's a shame we left your tutu at home," Rafe said with a laugh.

"Mommy said when we go back home I can go back to my dance class. But I want to stay here for a loooong time because it's fun here!"

Rafe smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, Princess."

"What's in here?" Katrina asked, suddenly getting the urge to explore some more. She lifted the lid to an old looking trunk and rummaged around, looking for anything interesting.

"I don't know. Let me see." Rafe got up from the chair and peered down into the trunk.

Inside, there were a lot of things that Rafe had forgotten about, old things that had once belonged to his mother. There were old scarves, fabric samples, sewing materials, and other miscellaneous items.

"I like these!" Katrina announced, pulling out a handful of scarves and waving them around her head.

"All of this stuff was your grandmother's."

"Grandma Kat's in heaven, right?"

"Right."

"How come she didn't take these pretty things!"

Rafe smiled. "I guess she wanted you to keep them."

Katrina grinned, tying one of the scarves around her head. She grabbed two more, got to her feet, and began to dance. As she danced, she remembered that she was a ballerina and that made her think of her music box.

Katrina grabbed her music box from the table and skipped down the hallway. She stopped in front of her grandmother's picture. "Hey, Grandma Kat! Look what I got? Your music box! And I got your pretty scarves! Daddy said I could keep them!"

Rafe watched Katrina from the doorway as she ran off to the other part of the house, leaving the painting of his mother staring right at him. Even in paintings, her smile was still just as beautiful. He silently wondered what it could have been like if she had lived. He wished she and Katrina could have gotten to know each other.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Alison lay in bed wide-awake, hearing the sound of thunder in the distance. A storm was moving in. Katrina would probably be awake soon. Thunderstorms scared her so.

Sleep refused to come. For one, she couldn't get comfortable, and two, the boys kept keeping her up. Gabe with his kicking, and Rafe with his tossing and turning.

Alison turned over on her side, facing Rafe. He was usually never this restless at night. She wondered what was going on in his head.

Rafe couldn't sleep. Physically, his body was exhausted. His mind on the other hand, was wide-awake. It just kept running, and there was nothing he could do to shut if off. Sure, he tried thinking of other things…like sheep jumping over a fence. No, that didn't work. Then he tried to stop thinking completely. But that was pretty much pointless.

Nothing could stop him from thinking about his mother.

"_Rafe? Rafe is that you?" he heard his mother call out from her bedroom._

_Rafe entered the bedroom, seeing his mother lying in bed again. "It's me, Mama."_

"_I heard a noise outside."_

"_It was just a wild animal," Rafe answered. He hated lying to his mother, but she really didn't need to know he had just staked a vampire roaming around on their property. Things like that only worried her, he quickly learned._

"_Do me a favor, please? Bring me that bottle of aspirin on the dresser. I have a headache."_

_Rafe walked over to the bed and handed his mother the bottle of aspirin. He sat down beside her as he watched her wash two of the pills down with a glass of water. He hated seeing her pain. It sure was happening a lot lately. Ever since he had embraced his life as a slayer, all he wanted to do was to protect his mother. But how could he protect her from this?_

"_Mama, do you need anything?"_

_Katrina reached out for her son's hand. "Stay with me for a while. I need to talk to you about something."_

"_Okay."_

"_I went to see a doctor, Rafe."_

_Rafe suddenly began to worry. He knew something hadn't been right with his mother lately, and judging from the tone of her voice, it wasn't good news._

"_You know I haven't been feeling too well lately, with the headaches and all. Right?"_

_Rafe shook his head._

"_I went to see a doctor about them, and he ran some tests. I got the results back today."_

_Rafe held his breath. "What's wrong?"_

"_I have a brain tumor, Rafe."_

_Oh. God. No. "There's a treatment for that, right? You'll be better though, won't you?"_

"_There's treatment. But it's too late for me."_

"_No. No it's not too late!" Rafe insisted. "We have to try something! Can't they do radiation or something?"_

_His mother shook her head, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "I'm dying, Rafe," she said bluntly._

_Rafe felt his eyes begin to well up. "No. No, Mama. You can't die. You're supposed to live for a long time. The doctors can come up with something. Just let them try."_

"_Rafe, it's no use. The treatments would make me feel sicker and they'd only give me maybe a couple of more weeks." _

_Rafe looked down, wishing this was all just a bad dream and he'd wake up any time now._

"_Rafe, listen to me." Katrina touched his chin and brought his face up to look at hers. "I don't want to get sick with therapy treatments that won't work. I don't want to spend the last few months of my life in a hospital room. I want to spend that time with you. Do you understand? Given that I don't have that much time left, I'm going to live my life to the fullest. I want you to remember me laughing. Not sick in a hospital."_

_Rafe nodded. He understood. But it was still hard to accept. He couldn't imagine life without his mother. She couldn't really be this sick, could she? It seemed impossible. _

"_It's not really a few months, is it?" he asked when he found his voice. "You'll have more time, right?" _

"_The doctor says I have about three or four months. Maybe five if I'm lucky."_

_Rafe didn't quite know how to respond to that. It wasn't often when he cried, but he couldn't quite help it this time. "Mama, I don't want you to die."_

"_Oh sweetheart, I know," Katrina soothed, moving to sit up as she wrapped her arms around her son.  
"I know…"_

"Rafe? Rafe?" Alison shook Rafe awake. He turned and looked at her, his eyes wide open.

"What? What is it?"

"You were having a nightmare."

"I was? I don't even remember falling asleep."

"Do you remember what it was about?"

"Yeah. It was a dream about my mother. I was dreaming about her being sick."

Alison put her arms around his shoulders. "I'm so sorry."

"I just can't help but think of her, you know? I spent so many years of my life living with her in this house. I guess it's just all coming back to me."

"Is there anything I can do?"

Rafe reached out and found her hand in the dark. "Just you being here is enough. Don't worry. I'm going to be fine. Let's try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Alright. Goodnight." Alison kissed Rafe and snuggled up close to him. She hated to think of Rafe being sad for even a moment. She knew how much he loved his mother and how much he missed her. But one thing she was sure of…wherever she was, she was definitely proud of her son. The young son she had left on earth had become a wonderful man.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Unlike her parents, Katrina had no problem falling asleep. She drifted off to dreamland the instant her head hit the pillow. And once she was down, she was out.

There was really only one thing that could snap her out of a peaceful slumber like this one.

Scary thunderstorms.

Her eyes shot open just in time to see a flash of lightening through the window, followed by a big boom of thunder.

Where was Bernie? She panicked. Reaching under the covers, she found her bear and held on to him for security.

Maybe the storm was over now. Maybe it was just raining now.

Or not.

A small sound escaped from her throat as another loud boom of thunder shook the walls of the room.

"Shh. It's alright, Precious."

Huh? Who was that?

Katrina looked over at the mysterious voice she heard. Sitting on her bed was a woman. It wasn't her mother, because this woman had dark hair.

She wondered if it was her. "Grandma Kat, is that _you_?"

"Yes, Precious. It's me."

"What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in heaven."

She smiled. "I'm your guardian angel. I'm always with you."

"But I've never seen you before."

"You can't always see me, but I'm always with you."

"I'm scared of the thunder and lightening."

"I know, Precious. I sensed you would be. How about I sit with you until you fall asleep again?"

"Okay, but you won't leave me, will you?"

"Of course not."

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

"Yes. I'll be right here waiting. Now you better get some sleep. It's late."

"All right." Katrina turned on her side and held on to Bernie as her grandmother tucked her in and gave her cheek a goodnight kiss.


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: Did anyone ever watch PC back in the early days? If you did, do you remember the time when Dominique's spirit visited Serena? That's sort of what I based this stuff with Katrina on. And on another note, I'll try to make it as less confusing as possible with two characters named Katrina lol. I think you'll have a pretty good idea which Katrina I'm talking about though ;)_

_Kennedy – thank you so much for your kind words. That means so much to me! I cried a little too when I wrote that part. I had to make it really sad though :'(_

_Erin – I've got a big plan for the house. :) I think it's a really good idea. But I'm not ready to say what it is yet. I've got to keep a few secrets ;) So stay tuned!_

_To everyone else – thanks so much for reading! Until 22!_

**Changes 21**

Morning came. Katrina stretched out her little arms and yawned. She opened and closed her eyes several times, wanting to go back to sleep but also, wanting to get up so she could play.

She suddenly remembered the dream she had last night. Daddy said sometimes angels visit you in your dreams, but it had seemed so real.

It was then that she saw her. There she was, sitting in the rocking chair across the room, smiling at her. It hadn't been a dream after all!

"Good morning, Precious."

Katrina sat up and threw the covers off her. "Hey! You're still here!"

She laughed. "Well I promised you I would be, didn't I?"

Katrina ran to her grandmother, throwing her arms around her and giving her a hug. "I'm glad you stayed!"

"Did you sleep good last night?" she asked, holding her at arms length.

Katrina nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Now you better run along. I think your mommy and daddy are downstairs waiting for you."

"Oh come with me!" Katrina begged, taking her grandmother's hand and pulling her to her feet. "Come downstairs and eat breakfast with us! I bet Daddy's going to be _really _happy to see _you_!"

"Oh, no, Precious," she said, kneeling down to her granddaughter's level. "I'm sorry, I wish I could, but they can't see me."

"How come?"

"Because I'm only visible to you. That means only you can see and hear me. That's just the way it works."

"Oh," Katrina said, disappointed.

"Hey, no long faces. It's alright."

"Are you leaving now? Are you going to be gone whenever I come back?"

"I'll be here whenever you need me, okay?"

Katrina smiled. "Okay."

"Now run along. Breakfast is ready and it's getting cold."

Katrina ran to the door, but then turned around and ran back to her. She gave her grandmother one more hug. "I love you, Grandma Kat!"

"I love you, too."

Katrina smiled at her, then ran out of the room, leaving her grandmother smiling too.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Rafe, how many eggs do you want? One or two?"

"That's fine," he said, his nose buried in the old spiral notebook.

"Rafe, you didn't answer me."

Rafe looked up apologetically. "I'm sorry, Angel. What did you ask me?"

"How many eggs do you want?"

"Two is fine."

Alison put two eggs on his plate and took a seat beside him. "Are you okay?" She placed her hand over his.

"Just thinking," he replied, turning back to the notebook and flipping a few pages.

"Is this about that dream you had last night? Are you thinking about your mother?"

Rafe closed the notebook and held it up. "Do you know what this is?"

Alison shook her head. "No. What?"

"It was my mother's. It's a day planner. I can't believe I didn't realize how sick she was. Do you know how many doctor appointments I found in this notebook? I don't know why I'm looking at it." Rafe pushed the notebook aside.

"Because you love her," Alison answered. "And you miss her."

"I'm disappointing her."

"Rafe, how could you possibly disappoint your mother?"

"By throwing this place away. Just selling it like it means nothing. My parents were so happy here. And I just can't help but think of how I'm going to let it go."

"Rafe, you could never disappoint your mother. Or your father for that matter. They love you no matter what. Whatever you decide do with this place, they would never be disappointed in you."

Rafe gave her a little smile. Alison was always good for making him feel better.

"Well, I better go wake up Katrina before she misses breakfast," Alison announced, standing up.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Katrina shouted as she raced into the kitchen.

"Good morning, sweetie," Alison said, giving her daughter a peck on the cheek as she sat down at the table.

"Well there's my brave girl," Rafe said. "You weren't afraid of the big storm last night?"

"Oh, I was afraid! But Grandma Kat watched over me."

Rafe and Alison exchanged glances.

Rafe smiled, touching the top of her head. "I'm sure she did, Princess."

Katrina took literally three quick bites of her pancake and swallowed a gulp of juice. "I'm done!" she announced as she started to stand up from the table.

"Oh no, I don't think so, missy," Alison said.

"Not hungry, Mommy!"

"Katrina," Rafe warned. "Have at least four more bites of your pancake, at least one egg, one slice of bacon, and drink a little more of your juice. _Then_ you'll be done."

Katrina sighed. Sometimes she wished she was a grown up. Then no one could tell her to eat this and eat that and how much of it to eat!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Upstairs, Katrina walked around the room, running her fingers along the furniture. She remembered when this was Rafe's room.

She looked out the window, squinting her eyes as the bright sunshine nearly blinded her. She smiled as she watched a bird fly through the air and into a tree across the grounds. It sure felt good to be back. She had almost forgotten how much she missed this place.

_Earlier…_

Ed was sitting at his desk when he heard a knock at the door. "Come in."

Before Katrina could even say hello, Ed was shaking his head at her.

"No, no, no! The answer's NO!"

"But I haven't asked you anything yet!" Katrina said.

"You didn't have to ask me. I can read your mind. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm very busy here."

Katrina ignored him, walking right into his office and taking a seat.

Ed sighed deeply. He should know have known she wouldn't give up so easily. "What is it?"

"I'm worried about Rafe."

"He's fine."

"No he's not. He's not fine at all. I'm his mother. I know these things."

"Okay, maybe he's been moping around a bit. But what do you want me to do about it?"

Katrina took a deep breath. "I want you to send me back."

"I already told you. The answer's no."

"Oh come on, Ed! Why not?"

"Katrina, everyone who comes up here wants to go back down the minute they see a loved one in pain. Everyone here wants to go down to earth to spend more time with the people they miss. But I can't just send you back. It doesn't work that way."

"Well how come _you_ get to go down to earth so much, hmm?"

"You want my job, Katrina? It's not as easy and fun as it looks."

"Okay, look, I'm not asking you to break any rules. I'm just worried about my son and I want to make sure he's doing okay. Can't you send me down as a guardian?"

"Only if there's immediate danger. And there isn't, so the answer is no."

Katrina rose from her chair and walked over to the bookshelf. She browsed through the titles, seeing the book she wanted and pulling it from the shelf. She flipped through it a few times to find the page she wanted.

"Statute 1.3 says a guardian can go to Earth anytime they feel their presence is needed."

"Let me finish that sentence for you. _In the event of imminent danger_," Ed replied, putting on his glasses and turning back to the paperwork at hand. Everyone who wanted to go back tried to use that rule as a loophole to go back.

Katrina wasn't about to give up just yet. She walked back to the chair in front of his desk and sat down. "You know, Ed, I'm surprised. I expected more from you. You were so good to my son when he came up here and he talked so much about how he admired you. He _still_ admires you. You know my grandson's name is Gabriel _Edward_ Kovich. That's how much of an impression you've made on him. And now the one time when he's in need of some guidance, you won't let me help him. I don't understand, Ed. Why can't you just send me back? Just for a little while! That's all I'm asking!"

Ed sighed. "You're just like your son. You know that?"

"Thank you. I take that as a compliment."

Ed sighed again. "Look, I can't just send you down. It doesn't work that way. Sending angels down on a mission or to take journeys is one thing but to send them down just to be with their family for a little while longer is another thing. I can get in big trouble for doing that."

Katrina looked down. It was started to look hopeless.

"However," Ed said, softening his tone a bit. "I suppose I could send you down in spirit form."

Katrina's eyes lit up. "You'll let me go!"

"Yes. And because I know that if I don't you're going to keep asking me anyway."

Katrina was so happy she felt like crying. "Oh Ed, thank you! You don't know how much this means to me!"

"Katrina, you realize that if I send you down as a spirit guide, Rafe won't be able to see you."

"But my granddaughter will," Katrina said happily. "Children can see spirits. Isn't that right?"

Of course she'd know about that, Ed thought to himself. Everybody up here wanted to go down as a spirit. They were the ones that made babies laugh and smile when no one was around. They were the ones that would play with lonely children and keep them company.

"Yes," Ed said. "Katrina will be able to see you."

"Oh, thank you, Ed! Thank you! I knew my son was right about you!" Katrina rose from the chair and ran out of the office.

Ed tried to always put on an annoyed act, but deep down, he was a softy. He smiled as he went back to his work.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once she was finally excused from the table, Katrina raced back up the stairs. She hoped her grandmother would still be there.

"Grandma Kat?" she called out, walking into the room. She didn't see anyone.

"Grandma Kat? Where are you?" she asked again.

"I'm right here, Precious," she said from behind her.

Katrina turned around and smiled. "Oh, there you are!"

She laughed. "I told you I'd still be here."

"You wanna play?"

"Sure, we can play."

Katrina smiled again. "I know!" She ran to the dresser where the music box sat. Katrina picked it up and brought it over to her grandmother. "Look." Katrina lifted the lid. The music played, and once again, the ballerina began her dance.

"Oh I remember this. This was one of my favorite music boxes. I always loved the dancing ballerina."

"I take ballet!" Katrina said happily.

"Oh you do?"

"Yeah, at home. And Molly and Cindy are in my class too. They're my friends. We get to wear pink ballerina dresses and we dance and dance and dance! It's fun!"

"I bet you're very good at ballet."

"Yep. And I can stand on my tippy-toes too! Watch!" Katrina stood on her tiptoes and turned around.

Katrina smiled at her granddaughter. "Wonderful job!"

The music slowly came to an end, and Katrina tired of dancing. "Hey, I wanna show you something else!" She ran over to her bed and found Bernie under the sheet.

"Who's this?"

"This is my bear Bernie."

"Well hello, Bernie. It's nice to meet you."

Katrina laughed. "He says it's nice to meet you too. And he says you're really pretty."

"Well that's very nice. Where did you get Bernie?"

"At the carnival. Daddy got him for me. There was this machine that had like a million stuffed animals inside. And Bernie was right against the glass and looking like he wanted out real bad. So I told Daddy and he said he'd try to get him out for me. So he put in a quarter and there was this big claw like thing that moved around on the top."

Katrina demonstrated how the claw looked with her hand.

"Then the big claw came down and it grabbed Bernie! And I was so happy, but then it dropped him! Then Daddy tried again, but he didn't get him. And then he put in another quarter, and he didn't get him. And then he said if he had to spend all of his money, he was going to get that bear! And then he had _one more_ quarter left! Then the big claw came down. Then it grabbed Bernie, and he got him!"

Katrina laughed, loving how animated her granddaughter was as she told the story.

"Katrina, who are you talking to?" Alison asked, walking into her bedroom.

"Grandma Kat. She's right there," Katrina answered, as if her mother didn't know.

Alison thought about that for a moment, then smiled. Katrina pretended to have imaginary friends all the time. It didn't surprise her that she pretended to play with her grandmother. She was absolutely fascinated with the painting of her downstairs. It reminded her of how she used to talk to Nana Becca when she was a child.

"Well sweetie, Daddy's going to be doing some work around the house. So we're going to go to the market, okay?" Alison walked over to the drawers and began to pick out Katrina's clothes for the day.

Katrina ran over to where her mother was and rummaged through the clothes. "I wanna wear my shirt with the hearts on it! Where is it?"

"Right here," she said, handing it to her. "Now go ahead and get dressed so we can go."

"Okay."

"And did you brush your teeth?"

Katrina shook her head no.

"Well don't forget to do that too!" Alison gave her a cheek a kiss and headed out of the bedroom to get dressed herself.

Once her mother had left, Katrina turned to grandmother. "How come Mommy didn't see you?"

"Because Precious, I told you. Only you can see me. Remember? I guess it's like our little secret."

Katrina smiled big. She liked secrets.

"Well, you better get dressed. I'll be back later, okay?"

"Okay."

Katrina watched as her grandmother faded away into thin air. But she wasn't sad. She knew she'd be back.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina stepped out onto the front porch as she waited for her mother. Over by the window, she saw her father hammering. Curious, she walked over to him.

"Whatcha hammering, Daddy?"

"These shutters. They're about ready to fall off."

"Can I help?"

"Sure. You could hand me a nail out of that little box. Be careful though; they're sharp."

Katrina reached inside and picked up a nail. "Here, Daddy!"

"Thanks, Princess."

"Hey, Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"You're really sweaty!"

Rafe laughed. "Well it's hot out here and I'm working hard."

"Well when you get done, you should go take a shower. Mommy's not going to want to kiss you if you're all sweaty!"

Rafe laughed again. "You're absolutely right. I'll be sure to wash up before lunch."

"There you are," Alison said as she came out of the house. "Katrina, you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Come on. Rafe, we'll be back soon."

Katrina happily skipped down the porch steps.

Rafe stopped his work. "Wait. Where are you going?"

"I thought I'd go down to the market to pick up a few things. Maybe buy some souvenirs."

Rafe frowned. He didn't want Alison and Katrina going off alone. "You have your cell phone, right?"

"Yes, Rafe."

"Why don't you take the car?"

"No, I think a walk would do me good. I need a little exercise. Besides, it's not far. Just a short walk down the path."

"How about I walk with you?"

Alison laughed. "Rafe! Don't you have work to do?"

"Well yeah, but, I could take a break."

"No, Daddy, you can't. Because you got a lot of work to do and then you gotta take a shower and clean up for Mommy. Remember?"

Rafe laughed, then gave up. They were both determined to go without him. "You call me if you need me."

"We'll be back soon," she said, giving him a quick kiss before heading down the steps. "Come on, baby."

Rafe watched them as they walked away. He was suddenly very glad Alison had convinced him to take them both. Over the past few days, he really loved showing them where he grew up and telling them stories from his childhood.

He turned his attention back to the broken shutters. How could he let this place fall into such bad shape? And it wasn't just the shutters. The paint was peeling off. The steps were coming loose. Even a few of the windows were cracked. Why didn't he do something about it sooner? Ever since he came back to Earth, he had plenty of opportunities to come back home and fix this place up. But he hadn't. He pushed it aside, almost forgetting it. Now he regretted it. The house was in shambles, a disgrace to the whole family. "I'm sorry," he said, looking up to the sky.

Nearby, his mother heard him. She watched him, wishing she could wrap her arms around him, hug him tight, and let him know that it was okay. "Listen to your wife, Rafe," she said. "No one is disappointed in you. But we're all very proud."


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Amy, you had a question about Katrina and her grandmother. Sorry, but no, she's only going to be able to see and talk to her for a short time (probably until they leave Romania), but you never know, Grandma Katrina could pop up at anytime in my stories so stay tuned.

Now, a quick note: Coming up in this chapter, there is going to be a little talk about vampires. I'm assuming that by this point, Rafe has at least told Katrina some stories about them. (Remember how she told the moving men her daddy was so strong he could throw a vampire across the room? LOL)

Anyway, I think it's important for Rafe to at least tell his daughter about their legacy, even though Katrina will never really have to be a slayer. And as far as believing in vampires, well it's not hard for Katrina to believe in them because she also believes in monsters hiding under her bed lol.

Okay, actually, I have a few more things…

When Alison is talking to the elderly woman, she attempts to say, "I'm sorry" in Romanian.

The vendor guy selling the toy horses, he says to Katrina, "Pretty little girl, for you."

Interesting facts I learned about Romania: Did you know that it's not uncommon today to find people using horses and wagons to get around instead of cars or trucks? Also, many farmers still use horses to plow their fields instead of modern day tractors. Huh! Imagine that:)

**Changes 22**

"Katrina! Not so fast!" Alison called out as Katrina ran ahead of her. "Mommy can't keep up!" Alison wiped a bead of sweat dripping down her lip with her finger. Maybe Rafe had been right. She should have taken the car. What was she thinking taking a walk in _July_, and nearing her seventh month of pregnancy?

Katrina reluctantly slowed her pace. It looked so different here than at home. There were mountains in the distance and long stretches of grassy fields everywhere. She wanted to see everything!

As they walked past a small looking house, Katrina saw some pretty yellow flowers planted at the end of the drive. She stopped to smell them.

Alison stopped walking when she realized Katrina was suddenly the one trailing behind. She turned around just in time to see her pull a handful of somebody's flowers out of the ground.

"Katrina!"

"Here, Mommy! I got some flowers for you!" Katrina smiled proudly as she pushed the crushed stems into her mother's hand.

"Katrina…baby that's nice of you, but you can't pick flowers out of other people's yards. It's not polite."

Sitting on the porch, an elderly lady had been watching them. She stood up from her chair and slowly made her way over to them.

"Smell them, Mommy!"

"Marigolds," the woman said.

Alison turned to the woman, still holding the flowers in her hand and embarrassed they had been caught. "Um…I sînt…sînt sup…supărat," Alison stammered, wondering if she was saying that right or not.

The woman smiled. "I speak English."

"Oh. I'm very sorry. My daughter didn't mean to take your flowers."

She laughed. "It's quite alright. I have plenty of flowers. I'm Violeta. Violeta Marandici."

"It's nice to meet you, Violeta. I'm--"

Violeta smiled. "I know who you are."

Alison looked surprised. "You do?"

"Of course. You must be Rafe's wife. Alison. And this must be Katrina."

Alison was stunned. "How did you know that?"

"Word travels fast in this village," she said with a laugh.

"So you know who my husband is?"

"I do. Oh he probably doesn't remember me much; he was just a young boy. I knew his mother quite well though." Violeta turned her attention to Katrina. "Well aren't you just the prettiest little thing."

Katrina smiled. She loved the attention everyone gave her. Everyone thought she was cute. "Hey, you know what! My mommy's got a baby in her belly!" she announced. "Sometimes he kicks! You can feel!" Katrina placed her hand on her mother's belly to show the lady that she wasn't lying.

Violeta laughed, bending down to get a better look at the child. "Oh if your grandmother could see you now."

"She has seen me. She's an angel."

She smiled. "Oh, of course, dear." Violeta looked up to Alison. "Dear, would you and the little one like some lemonade? It's hot out here. Why don't you come sit down for a while?"

Alison smiled. "Okay. I would like that."

"Mommy, can I play?"

"Yeah, you can play. But stay where I can see you."

Katrina happily ran off as Alison followed Violeta to the porch.

"So you knew Rafe's mother?" Alison asked as Violeta poured her a glass of lemonade and sat down beside her.

"Oh yes, I knew her very well. She was a very sweet girl. She and my daughter Hannah were good friends."

"Where's Hannah now?"

"Oh, she moved years ago. Living in England with her husband. Has a grandchild now. I'm a great-grandmother, can you believe it?" Violeta laughed.

"Do you get to see them often?"

"Not as often as I would like to. Speaking of people we don't see that often…what brings Rafe back to Transylvania after all of these years? The whole village is talking about his return."

Alison was surprised. "Really?"

"Well he left so many years ago, and he was gone for so long. No one really knew what became of him. But I knew. Chasing Caleb was what he was doing."

"Rafe made sure he would never hurt anyone ever again."

Violeta smiled. "For that, we're all very grateful. So, what is it that brings Rafe back?"

"He's here to fix up the old house and sell it."

"What? You mean you aren't staying?"

Alison shook her head. "No, afraid not. Our home is back in America. But I wanted to come here with Rafe to see where he grew up. It's so beautiful here."

"Oh. Well it's a shame you won't be staying longer. Transylvania just doesn't seem the same without the Koviches."

Alison thought about that. Sometimes she forgot that Romania was Rafe's first home, and that this is where he grew up and could have easily spent the rest of his life if things had been different. She wondered if Rafe ever missed living here, and if that was the reason why he was having such a hard time letting go.

Before long, Alison realized she and Violeta had been chatting for a half hour.

"Well, I really should be going now," Alison announced. "If I stay out too much longer, Rafe will start to worry about me. Thank you so much for the lemonade. I enjoyed talking to you."

"You're welcome. You come visit me again. I do enjoy the company. And bring Rafe too."

"I will," she promised. "Katrina! Let's get going!"

Over by the edge of the yard, Violeta had a small chicken pen. Several hens clucked around all over the place, and Katrina was right in the middle. Violeta and Alison both began laughing as Katrina flapped her arms like chicken wings and started clucking.

"Katrina!"

Katrina realized her mother was calling for her, and she ran to the porch.

"You silly goose," Alison said with a laugh.

"Not goose, Mommy! Chicken! Bock, bock, bock!"

Violeta laughed hard. It had been a while since she had been around children.

"We have to go, sweetie, before Daddy starts to worry about us. Say goodbye to Violeta."

"Bye!" Katrina said, running over to the woman and giving her a hug goodbye.

"Well goodbye, dear. You come visit me again, okay?"

"Okay," Katrina said.

"We'll come see you soon. Bye."

Violeta waved at Alison and Katrina as they walked down the steps and headed toward the road. "Goodbye!" she called out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alison had been downtown to the market place several times with Rafe to buy food and supplies, but this was the first time she ventured there on her own. Vendors were everywhere, selling everything from produce to jewelry to clothing.

Further down the street, the square was even more alive with activity, mostly tourists. Rafe avoided that section, but Alison loved touristy stuff. Taking Katrina's hand, she led her down the street, searching for a stand that sold postcards. She had promised to send Livvie one.

As she walked past the vendor stands, she could see why Rafe preferred to stay away. Everyone seemed to be embracing Dracula, selling fang teeth, plastic bats, little miniature Dracula dolls, and all sorts of other vampire paraphernalia. Alison watched as a laughing couple posed for a picture. The man had in fang teeth and was pretending to bite his lady friend. They all thought it was a big joke, but Alison knew better. It was no laughing matter. Those close to her had been to hell and back that summer years ago. If they had to go through what her friends went through, they would be thinking twice about making light of it all.

Alison took her daughter's hand and led her through the craziness of the downtown market. At the corner, she found the postcards. Most of them featured Dracula's castle, which didn't seem appropriate to send to Livvie. Alison settled for a nice one with a picture of Romania's countryside.

As her mother continued to browse through the postcard selections, Katrina looked at the assortment of items on a nearby table.

"My Daddy has a real one of these," Katrina said to the man behind the table as she picked up a sharp looking model stake. "I saw one at the house. It's for killing vampires." Katrina held the stake up, pretending to stab an imaginary vampire.

Alison turned to Katrina in shock, snatching the stake away from her. "Katrina, no! Don't touch that! You'll poke your eye out!"

"I'm just looking, Mommy."

"Well it's dangerous."

"No it's not, Mommy. It's only dangerous to the vampires. Can I get it? I wanna kick some vampire butt!"

Alison sighed. She couldn't believe it. Katrina was the first Kovich who didn't have to keep the world safe from the undead. And yet, here she was, giddy with excitement over a toy stake. She was definitely going to say no to that request, but fortunately, Katrina forgot all about the stake two seconds later.

"OOO! MOMMY!"

Alison snapped out of her thoughts, turning her attention to her daughter. "What, baby?"

"LOOK!"

Alison looked to where Katrina was pointing excitedly. It was a horse drawn wagon. Alison laughed to herself. Rafe had told her they were a little behind the times in Romania, but she never expected to actually see a wagon and horse as a means of transportation.

"Oh can we go see him, Mommy? Please!"

Alison smiled. "Sure, we can go see the horse."

Katrina practically dragged her mother over there. The child went nuts anytime she saw a horse.

Right away, Katrina began to pet the animal.

"No, Katrina, don't touch him," Alison said. "He's not ours."

Just then, the owner of the wagon and horse appeared. He gave them both a smile as he motioned for Katrina to come closer.

In his hand, he held some apple slices. He put one in Katrina's hand and motioned for her to give it to the horse.

Katrina laughed as the horse took the apple from her. "I have a pony at home!" she happily told him. "Her name is Cookie, because she looks like chocolate chip!" Katrina laughed at her joke. "And Nana says when I get riding good, I can win some ribbons!"

The man obviously didn't understand a word Katrina said, as he didn't speak English, but Katrina was oblivious. He motioned for them to wait just a moment.

Alison peered over his shoulder as he rummaged around in his wagon. He had several items, all made out of tin. Pots, cans, and a collection of little toys, all hand crafted apparently. He was probably out selling them.

The man turned around, giving Katrina a smile. In his hand, he held a little tin horse, to which he gave to Katrina. "Drăguţ deget mic fată, pentru tu."

Katrina gasped as she took the little horse. It was the most beautiful little horse she had ever seen! "Ooo! It's so pretty! For me?"

The man smiled and shook his head, understanding that Katrina was wondering if it was for her to keep.

Alison began to dig around in her purse. "Um…how much?" she asked the man. He gave her a blank stare, not understanding. "Um…money?" she clarified, taking out a handful of bills and showing it to him.

The man just shook his head no. He didn't want the money.

Instead, he gave them a smile, tipped his hat at them, and climbed into his wagon. He waved to Katrina as he drove away.

"Bye, Mister! Bye, horsy!" Katrina waved to them excitedly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"We're home!" Alison called out as she walked through the front door.

Rafe walked into the room, looking relieved. "I was about to go out looking for you."

"I'm sorry I worried you," she said, giving him a kiss. "I picked up some vegetables for dinner tonight."

"Daddy, look what I got!" Katrina held up the horse.

"Well what's that you have there, Princess?" he asked, taking it from her.

"A horsy!"

"Looks kind of like Cookie," Rafe laughed, handing it back Katrina.

"Hey yeah, it does!" Katrina laughed.

"Where did you get that from?"

"A man," Katrina answered before running out of the room to play with her new toy.

"Some man at the market gave it to her," Alison explained.

Rafe raised an eyebrow. "You went to the tourist district, didn't you?"

Alison laughed. "Yes. But remind me never to go there again. It's like vampire central."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"Oh hey, I met someone you know today."

"Really? Who?"

"A woman named Violeta. She lives down the path. She said you might not remember her."

Rafe smiled. "No, I remember her. She used to bring my mother flowers all the time. And…eggs. She had these chickens."

Alison started to laugh. "She still has them."

Rafe laughed. "I haven't thought about her in years."

"Well we got to talking, and I promised we'd visit her again."

"That sounds great. I'd love to see her again. We'll go the day after tomorrow."

"Why not tomorrow?"

Rafe smiled. "Because we're going somewhere tomorrow."

"Where are we going?" Alison asked with a smile.

"Sightseeing. I can't believe we've been in Romania for a week and I still haven't shown you and Katrina around."

"Where are you taking us?"

"Secret places only locals know about," he whispered.

Alison smiled. "Well I can't wait see it," she said, giving him a kiss.

"Well, I've got some things I need to finish up around here. Better get to it."

"Wait. Rafe?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever miss living here? I mean, do you sometimes think about what it would be like if home were here instead of Port Charles?"

Rafe gave her a smile as he reached out to hold her hands. "Alison, I'm always home. Anywhere I'm with you is home. And I don't care where we live. Just as long as I'm with you, I'll be happy." He moved her hand to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss.

Alison smiled, knowing it was true. For the same was true for her as well. She'd be happy anywhere just as long as she was with Rafe.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That evening, Rafe found himself in his father's study.

As a child, he had always been fascinated with this room. He had memories of his father here, busy with carving stakes or organizing plans to track down Caleb.

After his father's death, Rafe spent a lot of time in this room. It helped him feel closer to the man he had only known for such a short time in his life. And it was here that Rafe taught himself of what the family legacy was all about.

Rafe went through the items on the shelves and in the cabinets, making decisions on what he wanted to keep, and what could otherwise, be left behind or thrown away.

"Daddy?"

Rafe looked up, seeing Katrina standing in the doorway in her pink pajamas, clutching Bernie to her chest.

"Hey there, Princess. You ready for bed?"

Katrina walked into the room and over to the desk. She had a very serious look on her face. "Daddy, can vampires get into the house?"

"No. Not in a million years," he promised.

"But what if the vampire turns into a bat? Can he fly into my window?"

Rafe frowned. He didn't like the way this conversation was going. The last thing he wanted for his little girl to be scared. "Come here, Princess."

Katrina walked around the desk and climbed into her father's lap.

"Listen to me. You don't ever have to worry about any of that. I would never let any of those things hurt you, or even get near you. I'll keep you safe."

"And Grandma Kat will keep me safe too?"

"Sure. Your grandmother is always watching over you. Now tell me, what's all this talk about vampires, huh?"

"I saw a vampire today when I went out with Mommy. He had really sharp fangs and he was like, 'Rrrr! I'm going to suck your blood!'" Katrina put on a mean face and bared her teeth to show him how the vampire looked. "Then someone took a picture of him!"

"Oh, I see. Well you don't have worry about those vampires. They're not real. I took care of the real ones."

"You did?"

"Yes, I did. So no vampire is going to come after you, alright?"

"But if a vampire did come, you'd get it. Right?"

"That's right."

"Good! They can just stay away from us!"

"You know what, Princess? I think it's time we had a little talk. I want to show you something." Rafe set Katrina down on her feet and got out of the chair. He walked over to the shelf, pulling out an old family bible. Inside, there was an extensive list of names, possibly every Kovich since this whole slayer thing started.

"You see this?" Rafe put the book down on the desk and opened it up.

Katrina looked at the pages with curiosity. "That's a bunch of names."

"That's right. This is a record of the names of our ancestors."

"Why did someone write all those names in there?"

"Well, I suppose someone long ago just wanted to keep track of everyone, so they wrote down the names of everyone in the family."

"Is my name in there, Daddy?"

"No. But I tell you what. We can add you."

Katrina smiled, watching as her father picked up a pen and scribbled her name inside along with her birthday, right under his own name.

"Katrina Rose Kovich," Katrina said, reading her own name.

"Princess, sit down with me for a moment." Rafe sat back down in the chair and placed Katrina in his lap. They looked at the book together. "All of these people had a very special gift, and because you're a Kovich, you have that special gift too."

Katrina looked at her father with interest.

"Everybody on this earth has a special purpose, which is a reason for being here. And our reason is that we're slayers. That means it's our job to protect others."

"Like Buffy?" Katrina asked excitedly.

"Who's Buffy?"

"The vampire slayer! Me and Danny watch it with Serena!"

Rafe laughed. "Something like that…I think. Listen, the point is, we protect others. That's what we do. That's what we've always done. And I don't want you to ever worry about vampires, okay? Because I'll keep you safe. You remember that."

Katrina smiled. "Okay, Daddy."

Rafe kissed her forehead. "Now, I don't know about you, but I think your bear is tuckered out."

Katrina looked down at Bernie and nodded. "Yeah. It's WAY past his bedtime!"

"I think it's way past your bedtime too," Rafe whispered.

Katrina just laughed.

"Come on, let's get you upstairs and into bed."

"Give me a piggy back ride!" Katrina begged.

"Climb aboard," Rafe said, bending down so that Katrina could climb onto his back.

Rafe carried her upstairs, making all kinds of funny noises. Katrina laughed the whole time.

"Did you say goodnight to Mommy?" he asked, stopping at their bedroom door.

"Oh, no! I didn't!"

Alison looked up from her book and laughed as Rafe carried her into the room.

"Goodnight, Mommy!"

Rafe bent down so Katrina could give her mother a kiss.

"Goodnight, baby," Alison said, giving her daughter a kiss back. "Sweet dreams."

"Okay, giddy up, horsy! Let's go!" Katrina commanded.

"I thought this was a piggy back ride," Rafe told her.

"You're a horse now! So giddy up!"

Rafe looked at Alison as she laughed. She was enjoying this little show.

"You gotta neigh like a horse too, Daddy."

Rafe ran out of the room, bouncing Katrina up and down on his back as he made the best horse sounds he could make.

Alison placed her hand on her belly as she felt the baby kick. "Your daddy is a very silly man. You're going to love him."

Once in her room, Rafe placed Katrina on the floor. "Alright, Princess. No more rides for the night. Time for bed."

"One more time, Daddy!" she begged. "One more time around the house!"

Rafe shook his head. "Nope. Time for bed."

Katrina climbed into bed and under the covers. Rafe pulled the blanket up over her and tucked her in good.

"Tuck Bernie in too, Daddy."

Rafe smiled, putting the bear under the covers with his head on Katrina's pillow. "There you go, Bernie. Snug as a bug in a rug."

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"You're going to keep me safe, and I'm going to keep Bernie safe."

Rafe smiled. "Bernie's very lucky to have you. Goodnight, Princess."

"Goodnight, Daddy."

Rafe gave Katrina a goodnight kiss.

"Kiss Bernie too, Daddy."

"Goodnight, Bernie," he said, kissing the bear.

Katrina giggled. "Daddy?"

"Yes, Princess?"

"Grandma says goodnight too." Katrina looked across the room, watching her grandmother rock back and forth in the rocking chair.

Rafe gave her a smile. "Well she'll keep us all safe."

Katrina nodded.

"I'll see you in the morning, Princess. I love you."

"Love you too, Daddy."

Katrina smiled, closing her eyes as her father turned off the light. She wasn't scared at all now.


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N: Erin, I thought you might like that part ;) _

**Changes - 23**

"You're not feeling seasick are you?"

Alison laughed. "Over a little pond? Hardly. The rocking's certainly put Gabe to sleep though." Alison placed a hand on her belly, feeling the rhythm of her son's tiny heartbeat underneath. "Katrina! No, baby!"

"I'm just touching the water, Mommy."

"Don't lean over, Princess. You could fall out."

"Can I row the boat, Daddy?"

"No, you better let me do it. It's not as easy at it looks."

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream!" Katrina sang. She was in a very happy mood today.

"Okay, this is it," Rafe said as the boat slowed down and came to a small dock. Rafe stepped out of the boat and reached in to pick up Katrina. "Come on, Princess."

"I want to carry the picnic basket!" she begged.

"How about you carry the blanket?" Alison offered, handing it over to her. Katrina gladly took it, wanting to be a good helper.

Rafe held out his hand and helped Alison get out of the boat. He reached inside and handed her the basket. "I've got to tie up the boat."

"Okay, well you go do that and we'll set up."

"Alright."

Alison gave him a quick kiss. "Come on, sweetie."

Katrina felt like skipping as she followed her mother. "I love picnics!"

"Me too. They're fun! Where should we have our picnic? Pick a spot, baby doll."

"Um…under that tree!"

Alison gave her daughter a smile. "I think that's perfect."

Once under the shade of the tree, Alison set the picnic basket on the ground. "Let's spread this blanket out," she told Katrina, taking the other end of the blanket from her and spreading it out on the ground.

"Alright, let's eat," Rafe said as he walked over. He bent down and gave Katrina several little kisses on her cheek, which made her laugh because it tickled.

"Let me get the food out," Alison said.

"I'm hungry!" Katrina said.

"Well we're just going to have to feed you, aren't we?" Rafe said to her.

"Here, Katrina." Alison handed her a sandwich.

"Ooo! It's PB & J! Mmm, mmm, mmm! I love PB & J! Peanut, peanut butter, and jelly! Peanut, peanut butter, and jelly!" she sang, then taking a big bite out of it.

Rafe and Alison smiled at each other and laughed. It was unfortunate Rafe forgot to bring the video camera.

Katrina was the first to finish eating. The moment she saw a group of ducks coming their way, she decided she wasn't hungry anymore and went off to play with them.

"This one looks like Sigmund!" she laughed.

"Feed them some bread, Princess."

Katrina threw a few bread pieces on the ground and in the water. She laughed as the ducks raced to see who could get to it first.

"So, what do you think of Romania? Or what you've seen of it so far this morning," Rafe asked, turning to Alison.

Alison gave him a smile. "It's very beautiful. It's very beautiful here too. So quiet. Peaceful."

"I used to come here all the time."

Alison grinned widely. "I bet you brought all your girlfriends here, huh?"

Rafe laughed. "What girlfriends? No, I didn't have time for that. I was too busy training."

"Oh come on!" Alison teased, not believing that. "A boat ride. A picnic. A romantic setting. You mean to tell me you didn't take at least one girl here?"

"Only you," he answered. "This was my place. I came here by myself."

"To think?"

"Yeah, or to write, to read, to relax. Basically just to get away from it all."

"Well I love that you're sharing this place with me. And everywhere else we've been to today. You know, it's funny. I've been to Paris, I've been to Rome, I've been to London, but nothing quite compares to here. It's like Romania is Europe's best kept secret."

Rafe laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. Although I could do without the vampire hype. This place attracts some real crazies."

Alison laughed with him. "Well at least the real danger here is over now."

Rafe smiled. "That's right. Now we can just enjoy it."

"Exactly," she said, then kissing him softly.

"Hey! Come feed the duckies with me!" Katrina hollered.

"You go. I'll sit here and watch," Alison said.

"Okay. Coming, Princess."

"Come on, Mommy! Come see the duckies. There's baby duckies!"

"No, I'm just going to watch. Feed them some crumbs for me, okay?"

"Hey, Daddy! Throw them some food! They'll eat it!"

Rafe threw a tiny piece of bread towards a big duck. He quickly gobbled it up and waddled away.

"Look at him shake his butt!" she said, laughing hysterically.

Right then and there, Katrina did her best impression of the duck, quacking and shaking just like him.

Alison and Rafe laughed and laughed, and everyone thought this was by far, the best day they had in Transylvania yet.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina sat under the end table in the living room, playing some made up game with an old deck of cards she had found in one of drawers. She didn't know how to play any games except Go Fish, but you had to have another person to play that, and Mommy was too busy talking on the phone to Aunt Livvie. She said something about it being lunchtime in Port Charles, but Katrina didn't quite believe that. It was dark outside!

"Okay, I'll talk to you later. Bye, sweetie." Alison hung up the phone as Rafe walked into the living room.

"How's everything in Port Charles?"

"It's fine," she answered.

Rafe took a seat in the chair across from her. "I bet they miss us, huh?"

"I think Livvie's keeping something from me," she said, not answering his question.

"What do you mean? You think something bad has happened?"

"No, not exactly. It just seemed like she had a lot on her mind, like I had to keep repeating things to her. She seemed very preoccupied with something."

"What do you think it is?"

"I don't know. I asked her what was going on and she said things were fine."

"Maybe she's just used to talking to you in person," Rafe said, smiling.

"Maybe. Hey, speaking of home, how much longer do you think we'll stay?"

"Probably not too much longer. "I have someone coming in the morning to look at the house. He's interested in buying."

"Oh wow, so soon? What about all the furniture here? And all the work that still needs to be done?"

"There's too much furniture to try to move. We'll just sell it with the house, and the sell the place as is."

Just then, Rafe heard his cell phone go off. "I better take this. Maybe that's him. Rafe Kovich," he answered, standing up and walking out of the room to get a better reception.

"Mommy?"

Alison looked over at Katrina as she stood in front of her. "What, baby?"

"What's Daddy talking about?"

Alison reached out and touched a strand of Katrina's hair as she climbed onto the couch with her mother. "He's trying to find someone who will buy this house."

"Like we bought our new house?"

"That's right."

"Does that mean someone else will get to live here then?"

"Yes, baby."

Katrina thought about that for a moment, then realized what that would mean. "But if someone else lives here, then we wouldn't be able to come here again, would we?"

"Well we wouldn't be able to stay in the house, no. It would belong to someone else then."

"But I like it here. I don't want someone else to live here."

"Daddy doesn't really want that either, baby. But we have to sell the house because we need money to pay for our new house. You understand?"

"Are we leaving tomorrow?"

"No sweetie, we aren't leaving tomorrow. But we will be leaving soon."

Katrina frowned. "I don't want to go soon!" she said angrily.

Before Alison could say anything else, Katrina ran out of the room and up the stairs. Alison thought about going after her, but decided maybe Katrina just needed a little time to calm down.

Katrina ran to her own room, closing the door behind her. "Grandma Kat! Grandma Kat! Where are you?"

"I'm right here, Precious," she answered, appearing behind her. "What's the matter?"

"I'm sad."

"Why are you sad, Precious?" she asked, sitting down on the bed and inviting her granddaughter to sit beside her.

"'Cause I don't want to go. And Daddy's going to sell the house. And now someone else will live here and we won't be able to come here again forever and ever!"

"Oh, I see."

"I like this house. I don't want someone else to live here."

"Sometimes, Precious, it's hard to let go of things we love. It does make us sad, and it's okay to be sad. But you know what? Things usually do get better."

Katrina picked up her bear lying on the pillow. She held him tightly.

"Do you remember that red sweater you used to have?" Grandma Katrina asked.

"The one with the buttons?"

"Yes."

"That was my favorite sweater in the whole wide world! I wore it all the time."

"Well you remember how last fall, you tried to put it on and it was too small?"

Katrina shook her head. "Yeah. Mommy said I grew and that it wouldn't ever fit me again. I was sad. I couldn't wear it anymore."

"I bet you have a new favorite sweater now though, don't you?"

Katrina's eyes let up. "Yeah! I got a red sweater with a pony on it! And now that's my new favorite sweater!"

Grandma Katrina laughed. "You see? Things turned out okay. Let me tell you something. It's okay to let things go. It was sad that you had to give away your old sweater, just like it's sad to see this house go. But life is about change, and sometimes we just have to accept that things won't always stay the same. You understand, Precious?"

Katrina nodded. "Yes."

"But you know what won't change?"

"What?"

"You'll always have your memories of this place, and you'll always remember the fun you had here."

Katrina smiled at her grandmother and gave her a hug.

Grandma Katrina hugged her back tightly, wishing it would be this easy to convince Rafe to let go.


	24. Chapter 24

_A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update! Hopefully you haven't forgotten too much of what's going on in my story lol. I promise I've been working hard at writing this thing and it will get moving along shortly, just got really stuck on this particular chapter for some reason! Thanks for reading everyone! Until 25…_

**Changes – 24**

"So, what do you think?" Rafe asked hesitantly, not sure if the look on this man's face was one of interest or disapproval.

Mr. Montague was a short balding man with jet-black hair and a short mustache that curled ever so slightly at the ends. He walked around with a cane and spoke with a British accent. He made comments about everything as he ran his fingers along the furniture and admired the woodwork.

"It's a very grand house, Mr. Kovich," he finally said. "It needs a lot of work, a lot of repairs, but overall, quite magnificent. Of course, I am considering several other places, so I will have to get back to you when I've made a decision."

"That's fine. Take your time. I'm just glad at least _someone_ has an interest in this place. I've noticed that not many people around here prefer to live in a house this big."

Mr. Montague laughed. "Oh I don't intend to live here, Mr. Kovich."

"Oh?"

"I don't mind the size of the house. Actually it's quite small compared to my home in England's countryside. But no, my interest in this house is strictly monetary."

"Monetary?" Rafe wasn't sure he liked where this was going.

"I'm opening a museum next year, right here in Romania. An old house like this would be the perfect setting. It's got this antique feeling to it, you know? It has a lot of history. And let's face it, you don't come across houses of this magnitude too often in rural Transylvania."

Rafe followed the man as he stepped into the foyer. "Mr. Montague, if I may ask. A museum for what exactly?"

Mr. Montague laughed. "What do you think, Mr. Kovich? The history of Transylvania, of course! Do you realize how much tourism has gone up in this country in the last twenty years? Ah, yes, it is the allure of the vampire which draws them here to this beautiful country."

Now Rafe definitely didn't like where this was going. He tried to keep a calm and steady voice. "A_ vampire museum?_"

"Of course! I think it's a splendid idea!"

"Vampires _never_ lived here, Mr. Montague."

Mr. Montague chuckled. "Well of course they never lived here! You and I both know there's no such thing as them! But do you think the public cares? I mean, this _is_ the heart of Transylvania. You've seen the locals out in the market, haven't you? They're smart! They know all they have to do is to plaster Dracula's face on a piece of merchandise and they'll make money! I'm proposing a much larger venue than a market square. A place where they can visit, explore, and eventually, buy." Mr. Montague laughed arrogantly.

"Well," he announced, picking up his hat. "Mr. Kovich, I'll be getting back to you soon."

"You know what? Don't bother."

"Excuse me?"

"I changed my mind. The house is not for sale."

"I'm sorry?"

"No you heard me!" Rafe snapped.

"I don't understand."

"No, you don't understand! This house has been in my family for generations! Okay! This is where my parents began their life together. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let you tarnish their memory by turning this place into some vampire museum!"

Mr. Montague gave Rafe a cold glare. "Very well. I wasn't that interested anyway!" He placed his hat on his head and walked out the door in a huff. "Good day, Mr. Kovich," he said curtly, though it was obvious that he didn't mean it.

"Try the old Morley Mansion! I hear it's pretty creepy!" Rafe called out.

"Rafe, what is the matter?" Alison demanded. "I can hear you yelling all the way from the den."

Rafe turned around to see Alison standing in the doorway, Katrina right behind her.

"I'm not selling this house to that man! That's what's going on!"

"What happened? Why are you yelling?"

"You know why he wanted to buy this place? Huh? You want to guess why?"

Alison shook her head silently. It wasn't often that Rafe was this angry. Whatever that man had said to him had certainly riled him up.

"I'll tell you what his plans were! He wants to turn this place into a museum! And not just _any_ museum. No! _A vampire museum! _Can you believe that?" Rafe had to laugh to keep from completely losing it. "_A_ _damn vampire museum!_ Unbelievable!_" _

Rafe ran his hands through his hair as he began to pace around the room.

Katrina tugged lightly at her mother's shirt. "Daddy said a bad word," she whispered.

Alison kneeled down to her daughter's level. "Sweetie, why don't you go play for a while? Okay? Daddy and I have to talk about a few things."

Katrina did as she was told, leaving her parents alone.

"Rafe, I'm so sorry."

"How's that for irony? My family spends hundreds of years keeping vampires out of this place and then I almost make the mistake of selling this place to man who wants to invite them all in! Oh I bet Caleb's in hell having a field day with that one."

"Rafe, stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault. The guy's a jerk. He's just out to make a profit."

Rafe sat down on the window seat, feeling less angry, but now more sad. "I'm never going to be able to sell this place, Alison."

Alison sat down beside him and placed her hand on top of his. "No, of course you will. It's probably just going to take a lot longer than we both thought it would. But you'll find someone who will want this place, someone that will treat this house with the respect that it deserves."

"No, Alison. You don't understand. I'm never going to be able to sell this place because I can't let it go. I'm so sorry. I let you down. We're just going to have to find another way to pay for our house." With that, Rafe rose from his seat, then walked out the front door.

Alison watched him from the window as walked down the front steps and towards the woods. Her heart ached for him, and she wished she could hold him tight and take away all of his pain.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hello, Precious," Grandma Katrina said, sitting down on the blanket beside Katrina.

"I'm having a picnic, Grandma. You can come join us." Katrina was including Bernie the bear and a couple of her favorite dolls.

"I can see that. I used to always have a picnic here in the rose garden."

"Rose is my middle name. It's my mommy's favorite flower."

"Mine too."

"Me too."

"Well that's something we all have in common."

"Daddy's mad," Katrina said suddenly, changing the subject.

"I know, Precious."

"This man who talked funny with a mustache came to our house this morning. I think he made Daddy angry."

"Well maybe you need to cheer your daddy up."

"How?"

"Oh I don't know. Something just tells me that if you just spend time with him, he'll be happy."

"Katrina! Come inside and pick up your toys!"

"I gotta go. If I don't pick up my toys, Mommy's going to be mad."

Grandma Katrina smiled. "Go ahead. I'll see you later, Precious."

"Bye, Grandma Kat." Katrina hopped up and ran to the door.

"Having a picnic with your dolls, sweetie?" Alison asked.

"Yeah, and Bernie and Grandma too!" Katrina skipped out of the room, heading to the living room to pick up her toys.

Alison looked out the window, seeing only Katrina's dolls and that silly ole stuffed bear.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rafe found himself in front of his parents' gravestones, just as he had been the day before, and the day before that. He'd been coming here everyday. Sometimes just to visit. Other times, hoping for answers.

This time, he brought a handful of roses from the garden, laying them on the grass beside his mother's headstone. He kneeled down, tracing his finger along the letters of his mother's name.

"I wish you were here. I mean, I know you're here, up there, but sometimes I wish you were down here. You would know what to do. You always knew what to do."

Rafe felt a cool breeze blow through the trees. In the distance, he heard a bird sing. He looked up, squinting his eyes as the sunlight streamed through the tree branches. It was days like this that his mother loved. He knew in his heart that wherever she was, she was listening.

"Do you remember the time that we almost left? Remember how after Dad died, you didn't want to stay here anymore? But then you changed your mind and decided to stay. And not just for me, but because this was the one place where you could remember him the most. That's kind of how I feel. I feel closer to you here. I feel closer to your both." Rafe looked over to his father's headstone, next to his mother's for the rest of eternity now.

"I just want to know what to do. If you could just give me a sign, or something, that would be great."

Rafe stood up, not really sure what else to say. He glanced at the gravestones one last time, then decided it was time to go.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Katrina sat on the back porch, she happened to look up and see her father walking towards the house. Immediately, she hopped up from her seat and ran down the steps.

"Hi, Daddy!"

Rafe smiled at the sight of her. He went over to her and scooped her up into his arms. "Hello, Princess." He kissed her cheek and walked her back over to the porch.

"Where'd you go?"

"I went for a little walk. What's going on here?" Rafe looked at the table, decorated with little tea cups and stuffed animals sitting in the surrounding chairs. He set Katrina down beside them.

"We're having a tea party, Daddy. You want to have some tea with us?"

Rafe took a seat in an empty chair. "Sure, I'll have a cup."

Katrina picked up a cup and pretended to fill it up before gently handing it over to her father. "Be very, very careful of the cup! You don't want it to break!"

"Okay, I'll be very careful." Rafe took a sip of the imaginary tea.

"Is it good?"

Rafe gave her a smile. "It's the best ever."

"Are you feeling better now, Daddy?"

"Yes, I'm feeling better."

He may have said he was feeling better, but Katrina knew better. He still looked pretty sad to her.

"Don't be sad, Daddy. Grandma Kat said it's okay to let things go sometimes. Even though it's sad, you'll always, always have your memories."

Rafe looked down at Katrina, surprised to hear such words of wisdom come out of a five year old. "Grandma told you that?"

Katrina nodded. "Yeah. Cause I was sad too. I don't want the mustache man to live here."

"Don't you worry. He won't."

"Who will, Daddy?"

"I don't know, Princess. I just don't know."

They were silent for a moment, then Katrina picked up the tea pot. "You want some more tea?"

"I'd love some."


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! This chapter is kind of short but I'm thinking just a few more chapters and it'll be time for them to leave Romania. Although I've enjoyed writing about them visiting Transylvania, I'm starting to get homesick for Port Charles LOL. And I'm ready for Gabe to be born already :) Until 26! **

**Chapter 25**

Alison poked her head out on the back porch, smiling as she saw Katrina and her daddy having "tea." Rafe was a good sport. Most fathers would refuse to play girly games like that with their daughters, but not Rafe. He loved spending time with his little girl.

"Katrina?"

Katrina looked up at her mother, giving her a big smile. "Hey, Mommy! You want some tea?"

"Maybe in a little while sweetie. But I thought you might be getting hungry. There's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich waiting for you on the kitchen table."

"Ooo! I _am_ hungry!" Katrina hopped out of her seat and ran back into the house, the screen door slamming behind her.

Alison laughed. "She gets her appetite from you."

"Well she gets her sweet tooth from you."

Rafe stood up, following Alison back into the house as she made her way to the laundry room.

"You're not doing work, are you?"

"I'm just washing some sheets. These things are filthy with dust." Alison looked up, pointing a finger at Rafe. "And you under no circumstances are allowed to go anywhere near this washing machine."

Rafe laughed, thinking of the little incident they had last Christmas. "I'll stay away from it. I promise."

"You can help me with this though." Alison struggled with a sheet snagged in the machine, thinking this would be a whole lot easier without her big belly in the way.

"Alison?"

"Yeah?"

"Has Katrina said anything about my mother to you?"

"Yeah. She said this morning they were having a picnic together outside. I think it's cute. I use to have imaginary friends all the time when I was about her age. Of course I was lonely and that was why. But Katrina just has that overactive imagination."

"No, Alison, she's not imagining it. That's what I thought at first too, but no. She's _really_ talking to my mother."

Alison stopped what she was doing and stared at Rafe. "You mean you think your mother is actually _here_?"

Rafe nodded. "I think Katrina's really seeing her."

"How do you know?"

"It's just something she said to me that she said my mother told her. It just sounds so much like something she would say."

"Can angels do that?"

"Angels are all around us, Alison. We don't always see them, but sometimes we do. And I'm pretty sure Katrina is."

"Oh my god. That's incredible. You know, I've been wondering who she's been talking to lately."

"And remember that morning at breakfast? She said my mother had been with her."

Alison smiled. "Because she was."

Rafe smiled back at her. "Yeah. Which makes me feel a lot better, you know? Like things can't be so bad if I know she's around."

Alison reached out and touched his arm, giving it a squeeze.

"Why aren't you putting these in the dryer?" he suddenly asked, noticing the pile of soaking wet sheets in the laundry basket.

"Um, yeah. It's broke."

"What? It is? Hmm. Well, I guess it's old. I'm surprised the washer still works."

"It's okay. I love that outdoor fresh scent anyway." Alison bent down, picking up the basket.

"Whoa, hold on!" Rafe grabbed the basket away from her. "You shouldn't be carrying this."

"But Rafe..."

"Do I have to keep reminding you that you're pregnant?"

"No, Gabe does that everyday." Alison patted her rounded stomach, feeling the baby move inside her.

"No heavy lifting," Rafe said firmly, and that was the end of it apparently.

Alison followed Rafe outside.

"Where do you want this?"

"Over there," she pointed. "By the clothesline."

Rafe carried the laundry basket over to the line and set it down on the ground. "I'll help."

"Rafe, I'm just hanging sheets. You worry about every little thing I do since I've become pregnant."

"Well if you don't want my help then I'll just go back inside." Rafe started towards the porch.

"Hold on! Wait! You can help."

Rafe gave her a smile. "You take that end, I'll take this end." They picked up a sheet and folded it over, preparing to hang it on the line.

"Rafe?"

"Yeah?

"Why do you think Katrina is the only one who can see her?"

"I don't know. It's probably some rule or something." Rafe looked up to the sky. "Damn rules."

In the distance, a rumble of thunder was heard.

Alison laughed. "You better watch what you say, Rafe Kovich."

He looked up again. "Ed, why do you always do that?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, Grandma, how come this house has so many rooms?" Katrina held her grandmother's hand as they walked down the upstairs hallway.

"Well, we have a big family," she answered.

"It's not that big."

Grandma Katrina sat down at the window seat at the end of the hallway. Katrina climbed up into the seat beside her, pressing her fingers against the window and looking out over the grounds.

"Well, it once was. You know what?"

Katrina looked at her grandmother. "What?"

"One time, there were so many people living in this house, why, I bet every bedroom was filled."

Katrina's eyes widened. "Whoa. That's _a lot_ of people!"

Grandma Katrina laughed. "Yes, it is. You see, a long time ago, there was a man and a woman who lived here, and they lived here with their children. Well eventually, their children grew up, and they got married. But there was plenty of room here, so their husbands and wives just moved in. And then they had children. And the mother and father were still living here with all of their children and grandchildren. Pretty soon, it was a full house!"

"And Daddy lived here too!"

"That's right, he did. He lived here with me and his father and his grandmother. And his grandfather lived here too, but he went to heaven long before your daddy was born."

"Katrina! Are you upstairs?" Alison called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes, Mommy!"

"Well come downstairs, sweetie. We're going to go visit Violeta."

Katrina turned to her grandmother. "I got to go. Bye, Grandma!"

Grandma Katrina gave her granddaughter a kiss. "See you later, Precious." She watched as Katrina hopped off the window seat and ran down the hallway towards the staircase.

She then stood up, walking down the hallway, peering into the empty rooms as she passed them. They all looked kind of lonely now, but she just smiled, for she knew that one day, this house would be full of people again.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N:** A while back, a certain Awian asked me how Katrina's bear got his name, so in case anyone else was wondering, you'll find out in this chapter lol

Until 27! Wow, this story is getting longer:)

**Changes – Chapter 26**

Katrina insisted on carrying the basket of muffins her mother had made for Violeta on the walk to her house. Alison didn't seem to mind. It left her hand free so that she could hold Rafe's. When was the last time the two of them held hands and went for a walk? She couldn't remember, but it was really nice.

When they arrived on the front step, Katrina knocked on the door excitedly. "Hello?" she called out. "Anybody home?"

A few moments later, footsteps were heard, and Violeta opened the door. She smiled at the sight of Katrina's granddaughter, thinking of how in little ways, she could see Katrina in her smile.

"Hello, dear! It's so good to see you!"

"Here! We brought these for you! Mommy made them!" Katrina held up the basket of muffins.

Violeta took the basket, graciously accepting them. "Why thank you! That was so thoughtful of you." She gave Alison a smile. "I'm so glad you came for a visit." Violeta looked over at Rafe. "And you, well you haven't changed a bit since the last time I saw you!" she said as she greeted him with a hug.

"Hello, Violeta. It's good to see you."

"Please, come in." Violeta moved aside to let the three of them into the house. "I was hoping you would come for a visit soon. You have perfect timing. I just made some tea."

"Ooo, like a tea party?" Katrina asked excitedly.

"Sure, why not? Would you like to come help me get some plates and cups from the kitchen?"

"Yeah!" Katrina said.

"Make yourselves at home," she told Rafe and Alison. "We'll be right back."

Alison took a seat on the nearest chair while Rafe walked around, admiring pictures and knickknacks on the shelves.

"I remember these things," he said, picking up snow globe and giving it a shake.

"Did you come here a lot?"

"I'd come over here with my mother sometimes." It was at that moment that he saw a picture of her. He picked it up and smiled.

"That's my favorite picture of Katrina, the one of her and my Hannah," Violeta said, walking into the living room. Katrina followed, carrying some plates. "Sit those down on the table, dear," she said. Katrina did just that.

"It's one of my favorites too," Rafe said, putting the picture back on the mantle.

"I wanna see the picture of Grandma!"

Rafe picked the frame up again, giving it to Katrina. "Be careful with it Princess. Don't drop it."

"Grandma Kat's so pretty. Who's the other lady?"

"That's my daughter. She and your grandmother were friends."

"How come Grandma's not wearing her white dress in this picture?"

"White dress?"

"Yeah. Grandma always wears a white dress."

"Hmm, well, I suppose Katrina _did_ wear a lot of white," Violeta said with a laugh.

Rafe smiled, taking the picture and placing it back where it belonged.

"Hey, let's eat some muffins!" Katrina said, suddenly remembering the basket they had brought over.

Violeta said that was a great idea. Katrina helped pass the plates and muffins out, while she poured the tea.

Alison had worried that Katrina might get bored, as children usually do when adults just sit around and talk. But she was pleasantly surprised when Katrina joined in on the conversation, asking Violeta question after question after question. She was curious about how Violeta knew Grandma Kat, and she was delighted to hear stories of her daddy when he was just a young boy.

When the subject of the house came up, Violeta was thrilled by that news that Rafe had changed his mind about selling.

"So what will you do with the house now?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet. But I do know that I want to keep it. I just can't imagine letting it go."

"Well I'm glad to hear that. When I heard you were selling it, I couldn't help but feel a little sad. For as long as I've known, there's always been a Kovich living in that house. Ever since you left, the house just seemed so forgotten."

Rafe thought about her words. Forgotten. He hated to admit it, but he had neglected the place his family had called home for generations. It had felt so empty when they arrived, but that had changed in the last week. "Well I can promise you this, Violeta. I don't have any intentions of it being forgotten again."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Violeta stood in her doorway, waving as the three of them began their walk back home. "Come again and see me!" she said,

"Bye, Violeta!" Katrina waved happily.

Rafe and Alison waved goodbye, then started walking towards home.

"I'm really glad we came for a visit," Rafe said. "I wish we would have gone sooner. I'd forgotten how close Violeta and my mother once were."

"I feel a little sad for her. She just seems kind of lonely, you know? With her family living so far away and all."

"Yeah, I know."

"Hey, Daddy?"

"Yes, Princess?"

"Maybe Miss Violeta can move into the house!"

"Well she has a house already, Princess."

"Yeah, but there's tons of tons of rooms there! She could pick whatever room she wanted! And if she moved in, she would be there and we could come visit her so she wouldn't be lonely anymore."

Rafe gave his daughter a smile. "Well, I don't know if Violeta would want to live in a house that big, but we can definitely visit her again."

Katrina smiled back at her father, then slipped her hand into his. Her other hand reached for her mother's, and they all walked hand-in-hand back to the house.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Rafe walked down the hallway to tuck Katrina in, he was surprised to hear her moving about in her room. Rafe stood in the doorway, watching her lift the covers off her bed as if she were looking for something.

"Hey, why aren't you in bed, young lady?" Rafe asked, pretending to put on a stern voice.

Katrina looked up at her father rather desperately. "Daddy, I can't find Bernie!"

"Hmm, well he has short legs, so he couldn't have gotten very far," he said with a laugh. "Let's check under these covers."

"I already did."

"Let's look again. Sometimes we just need to double-check."

Katrina watched as her father turned down the bed covers and looked under the sheets. When there was no sign of him, he checked under the pillow.

"He's not there," Katrina said sadly.

"He could be hiding under the bed. Did you look there?"

Katrina shook her head no.

"Let's have a look." Rafe kneeled down and took a look under the bed. Katrina did the same. But Bernie wasn't hiding there.

"He's not there, either!"

"Don't worry, Princess. We'll find him. I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

They searched the whole room. They looked in the closet, they looked in the drawers. They even searched under every pile of clothes on the floor. They turned up nothing.

"He's lost, Daddy!" Katrina sobbed.

Rafe looked down at his little girl, her face full of sadness. He knew she couldn't sleep without that bear. "He won't be lost for long. Come on, we'll search this entire house if we have to."

Katrina took her father's hand, hoping he was right. She knew somewhere, Bernie was out there, alone and scared.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Downstairs, Alison had dozed off on the couch and would have probably slept longer if it hadn't of been for Rafe and Katrina. She opened her eyes, wondering what all the commotion was about.

"Bernie!" Katrina called out, as if the stuffed bear could really hear her.

"Bernie? You silly bear, where have you gone off too?" Rafe asked, then wondered why he felt the need to talk to something that was obviously not going to answer him back.

Katrina followed her father into the living room.

"Where were you playing in here, Princess?"

"Under the table."

"Go check there."

Alison moved to sit up on the couch, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Bernie's missing in action."

"Oh no."

"He's not here, either!" Katrina cried. She ran to her mother, burying her face into her mother's chest and soaking her shirt with her tears. "I can't find Bernie, Mommy! He's gone forever!"

"Oh, no baby," Alison soothed. "Bernie's not gone. We'll find him. Don't you worry."

"But we looked _everywhere_!" she sobbed.

"Well you'll just have to retrace your steps. You'll have to look all the places you played today. You checked everywhere in your room, right?"

Katrina nodded. "Yes."

"And upstairs?"

"We checked all the rooms," Rafe said.

"Did you check the den, baby?

Katrina nodded.

"The kitchen?"

"Yes."

"How about outside? I know you were playing with Bernie outside today."

Rafe suddenly had an idea. "I got it. I think I know where Bernie is!"

Katrina looked up hopefully as her father left the room in a hurry.

"Don't worry. Daddy will find him," Alison promised.

Rafe stepped out on the back porch, glancing around the chairs and tables. At first, he didn't see him, but suddenly some clouds moved, revealing the brightest moon.

And there was Bernie, basking in the glow on the porch step. Rafe picked up the bear, dusting the dirt off him. He had to laugh, thinking of how they turned the house upside down looking for him and he had been out here the whole time.

Back in the living room, Katrina kept her eyes on the hallway, waiting for her father to come back. Finally, she heard his footsteps, and moments later, he appeared in the doorway.

"Look who I found." Rafe held the bear up.

Katrina ran to her father excitedly. "Bernie! You found him! You found him! You found him!" Katrina grabbed the bear, hugging him tightly.

"Where was he?" Alison laughed.

"Outside on the porch step."

"Oh, Bernie, I'm so sorry!" Katrina said to her bear. "I'll never leave you again, never ever! You must have been so scared."

"Oh, but he wasn't scared when I found him, Princess."

Katrina looked up at her father. "Really?"

"Sure. He was outside looking at the moon. It's really beautiful tonight."

"I want to see the moon!" Katrina begged.

"Another night. It's way past your bedtime."

"And Bernie's too," Alison added.

"Come on, Princess," Rafe said, scooping her up into his arms.

Alison rose from the couch and followed them up the stairs. Rafe placed Katrina in her bed and Alison helped him fix the covers that had been strewn in the search for Bernie.

"Tuck me in really tight!"

Rafe pulled the covers up.

"Tighter, Daddy! Tuck me in so me and Bernie can't wiggle out!"

Rafe laughed, tucking her in tighter so that only two heads could be seen, hers and Bernie's. "Do you think you can sleep now, Princess?"

Katrina nodded, giving her father a big smile.

"Goodnight. I love you." Rafe kissed her cheek.

"Goodnight, sweetie," Alison said, kissing her too.

"Goodnight! I love you Mommy and Daddy!"

Alison joined Rafe at the door as he turned off the light. The room was suddenly illuminated by the bright moonlight from outside. They stood at the door for a moment longer, until they were sure that Katrina was all set for the night, then quietly closed the door behind them.

"Good thing I found that bear, huh?"

"Or she would have never gone to sleep!" Alison laughed, walking towards theirroom.

"Hey, Alison?"

"Yeah?"

"How did she come up with the name 'Bernie' anyway?"

"I think she was watching _Bernie Mac_ reruns over at Jamal's," she said with a laugh.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N**: Okay, I know it's taken FOREVER to finally get to this chapter, but here it is. This is the chapter where the house issue is finally settled! YAY! And then they can go back home. I miss Port Charles:) Until 28…

**Changes – Chapter 27**

Katrina had brought a suitcase full of toys to Romania, but nothing was more tempting to her at the moment than the white sheets hanging from the clothesline. She laughed and laughed as she darted in and out between the sheets, hiding from her mother and laughing when she was caught.

"I don't know where Katrina is!" Alison said rather loudly. Seconds later, she heard some giggling.

"Oh where could she be?" Alison asked aloud, then suddenly pulling the sheet off the line. "Oh there she is!"

Katrina laughed again. "I'm going to hide somewhere else! You won't find me!" Katrina scurried off to hide behind another sheet.

"Oh I don't know. I'm pretty good at this game." One by one, Alison started to take down all the sheets, folding them up as best she could, then placing them in the laundry basket.

Finally, there was one sheet left. She removed it slowly. "Ah-ha!"

Katrina stood on the other side, her hands on her hips as she gave her a mother an annoyed look. "Hey! Now where I'm supposed to hide?"

Alison laughed. "Sorry, baby. I have to take them down."

"No, Mommy, keep them up! I want to play with them!"

"Well we've got to have fresh sheets for our beds, sweetie!"

"Then buy more."

Alison laughed. Katrina's solutions were always so simple.

Just then, Rafe poked his head out the door. "Alison!"

"Yeah?"

Rafe held up his cell. "Lucy's on the phone. She wants to talk to you."

"Oh okay. I'll be right there." Alison made her way over to the house to take the call.

Katrina eyed the basket full of clean sheets and towels. She lifted one handle, attempting to pick it up. She soon realized it was too heavy for her, so she began to drag it.

"Need some help with that?" Rafe asked her.

Katrina looked up at her father. "Yeah. I think so!"

Rafe picked up the basket with no effort at all and carried it into the house. "Where does your mother want these?"

"Um, I think upstairs. She said something about making the beds!"

"Alright then. I'll just carry this upstairs."

Katrina followed her father as he headed to the bedroom and placed the basket on the bed.

"No, Daddy! Don't put them there! I got an idea!"

"What's your idea?"

"Hold on a second! Just hold on!" Katrina suddenly ran out of the room, leaving her father wondering what she was up to now.

A few moments later, Katrina came back into the room. She had brought with her a small cart with wheels on it, which she had found in one of the spare rooms. "Put them on here, Daddy!"

"Um, okay." Rafe placed the laundry basket on the cart and watched as Katrina then wheeled it out into the hallway. "What are you doing, Princess?"

"I'm playing Maid! I'm bringing fresh sheets and towels to everybody!"

Rafe laughed at that. "Well you have fun, Princess," he said, touching her head lightly as he left the room.

"Okay, Lucy, tell everyone I said hello. I'll talk to you later….Bye." Alison hung up the phone just as Rafe came back down the stairs. "Well Lucy seems to be doing good. But I got the distinct feeling that she wants us to hurry up and get home so she can throw me a surprise baby shower."

Rafe laughed. "Well I think we'll be going home soon. We don't have to decide today what to do with the house but as long as we can get it in some kind of order before we leave, that would be good."

"Oh, that reminds me. I was doing some cleaning. Let me get back to my laundry."

"Oh, no bother. Our daughter is taking care of it for us."

"What are you talking about?"

"Katrina's upstairs playing 'Maid'."

Alison laughed. "I better go check on her." She gave Rafe a quick kiss before heading up the stairs.

Alison walked into the bedroom, seeing Katrina struggling with a fitted sheet. Every time she put it around one corner of the bed, the other corner would pop off.

"Oh man!" she complained.

"Need some help, sweetie?"

"It doesn't fit, Mommy!"

"It will fit. You just have to work at it. You take that end."

Katrina did as her mother said, taking one end and putting it around the mattress. Her mother got the other end, and finally, the sheet was on.

"Hey, it does fit!"

Alison laughed as she reached into the basket for the second sheet.

"Hey, Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Do we have a tray?"

"A tray? What do you need a tray for?"

"For the room service!" Katrina said, as if her mother didn't know. "I need a tray for all the food! There's a lot of rooms in this place! And I bet all those people are hungry!"

Alison laughed. "What people, sweetie?"

"I'll show you." Katrina took her mother's hand and led her out into the hallway. She pointed to the room across the hall. "That's Bernie's room."

Alison peered into the room, seeing Katrina's bear sitting on the bed with a grin on his face.

"And that room over there is Dolly's room. And this room here is Dora's!" Katrina looked at her wrist, pretending she was looking at a watch. "Oh my goodness! Look at the time! It's getting late! I better get these people some breakfast before they starve to death!"

Katrina suddenly ran back down the hallway, almost missing the stairs as she backed up and ran down them. Alison just laughed. How did she come up with these games?

It was then that the idea came to her. Alison laughed out loud. "Oh my god. That's it!"

"Rafe!" she called out, heading down the stairs. "Rafe!"

"What?" Rafe ran towards the staircase, fearing something was wrong. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing's the matter. Rafe, I got it!"

"Got what?"

Alison stepped down the steps, taking his hands in hers. "A solution to our problem! I know what we can do with the house!"

"What is it?"

"Okay, think about this. What's the one place that all tourists will go when they visit Transylvania?"

"Well, according to Mr. Montague, anything with Dracula's face on it."

"No. Well, people like him might. But no, tourists in general. Where do most of them go?"

"I don't understand."

"People need a place to stay. Right?"

"Where are you going with this, Alison?"

"I think we should turn this place into a bed and breakfast!" Alison squealed in excitement. "What do you think?"

Rafe laughed. "A bed and breakfast? That does have some possibilities."

"Yes! Think about it! There's more than enough room! And some of the bedrooms already have their own private bath! And there's a really huge kitchen! Plus there's tons of history with this place, which I think is kind of cool. And also, more importantly, we wouldn't have to give this place up. We could use the money we make here to pay off our house, just like we planned. So? What do you think? Good idea?"

Rafe was so happy, he had to laugh. "Angel, I think it's a great idea!" Rafe pulled Alison in and kissed her passionately.

"Somehow I just knew things would work out."

Rafe held Alison close to him, smiling at her. "You always come up with great ideas. What would I do without you?"

"Well, not all the credit should go to me. It was mostly Katrina's idea!"

Just then, Katrina came into the room, carrying a tray full of goodies.

"You wants some muffins?" she asked them.

"I would love some, Princess," Rafe said, taking a muffin from the tray.

"Well, I gotta go feed these hungry people!" With that, Katrina marched up the steps with her tray of breakfast items.

Rafe and Alison looked at each other and laughed.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

The idea of turning the house into a bed and breakfast was so perfect, that Rafe wondered why he hadn't thought of doing that in the first place. Rafe thought of his mother, thinking of how she absolutely loved staying at bed and breakfasts when she traveled. He couldn't think of a better way to honor his parents' memory, and the house that his family had lived in for generations.

But as perfect as it all was, things weren't so simple. The house still had a lot of work to be done, and it would take a lot of time and effort to transform a place of this size into an operating business. There was no way it would be finished by the summer, as he and Alison had to get back to Port Charles soon.

So when a group of locals carrying their toolboxes and supplies walked up the path, Rafe was a little surprised.

"What is all this?" he asked Alison.

"They want to help you, Rafe. Violeta told them what you were doing to the place and everybody in the village wants to help."

At first, Rafe didn't understand. Why was everyone so willing to help him? But then, it all became so clear. Caleb had affected all of these people in some way, years and years ago. The Kovich family had kept the villagers safe for so long, and now, it was their turn to give something back. And they wouldn't take no for an answer.

With big smiles on their faces, the men got to work. Some brought out their ladders and paint supplies, while others had hammers and tools.

Alison looked to Rafe and smiled. "I'd say that you'll have no trouble at all finding people who want to run this place for you."

"You know, I was thinking of that. Do you think if I asked Violeta if she would like to be in charge of the B & B, she would accept?"

Alison smiled. "I think that's a great idea, and I think she would love to."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two weeks had passed, and Rafe and Alison were preparing to go back home.

The house of course, still had a lot of work to be done, but Rafe felt confident he was leaving it in good hands. Violeta promised to oversee the renovations and was thrilled to be offered to run Kovich Manor once the B & B was up and running. She had always loved the Kovich house and was looking forward to all of the guests and tourists that would someday stay there.

Even though they looked forward to going back, leaving was still hard. Rafe hadn't realized how much he had missed his first home until they arrived here. But it made him happy to know that he could always return and visit whenever he liked, and that his children would always know where their family came from.

He placed some flowers on his parents' graves, silently saying hello to them and knowing that somewhere, they were listening, and that they were proud.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina rummaged through her drawers, looking for the pajama top that matched her pink pants. She finally found the shirt and dug it out, putting it over her head.

Looking behind her, she saw Bernie sitting in the chair. She grabbed him and put him into the bed before he got any ideas about running away. They were leaving tomorrow, and she was taking no chances that he would be left behind!

"Hello, Precious."

Katrina looked up. "Hi, Grandma!"

"I see you're all packed and ready to go."

"Yeah, cause we're leaving tomorrow. You going to come on the plane with us?"

"No, Precious, I'm afraid not."

"Why? You scared of flying?"

Grandma Katrina laughed softly. She would miss spending time with her granddaughter. Katrina always made her smile. "No, it's not that. Come here." Grandma Katrina sat on the bed. Katrina sat beside her.

"I'm afraid it's time for me to go."

Katrina frowned. "You're leaving? How come?"

"I have to go back from where I came from."

"To heaven?"

"Yes, Precious."

"But you said you'd always be with me."

"Oh, but I will. Listen, you may not be able to see or hear me, but I promise you that I will always be with you, right here in your heart." Katrina placed a finger over her heart.

"But I'll miss not seeing you."

"Oh, I'll miss you too. But you can talk to me anytime."

"I can?"

"Yes. Come here. I'll show you."

Katrina followed her grandmother over to the window.

"You see all of those beautiful stars up there?"

"Yeah."

"Anytime you want to talk to me, you just look up to the sky, right where those beautiful stars are, and I promise you that'll I'll be able to hear you."

"Will I ever see you again?"

Grandma Katrina kneeled down to her level. "Yes, someday."

Katrina's chin started to quiver. "I don't want you to go now. Can't you stay? Just for a little bit?"

"No, Precious. I must go. Oh, no tears, okay? Even though you won't be able to see me, I'll be able to see you. And I'll watch over you. You remember that I'm always your guardian angel, okay?"

Katrina nodded.

"Will you do something for me?"

Katrina nodded. "Yes."

"You keep being a good little girl for your mommy and daddy. And when your little brother comes, you be a good sister and help your parents with him. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"Can you do one more thing?"

"Yeah."

"Give your daddy a kiss and hug for me. Tell your daddy I love him."

"Okay."

Grandma Katrina smiled, then reached out to touch a strand of her granddaughter's soft blonde hair. "I love you, Precious."

"I love you, too."

She kissed Katrina on her forehead. Then slowly, she faded away, waving as she smiled at her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Downstairs, Rafe took one more look around at the study that had once been his father's. All day, he had gone through the house, gathering things, pieces of history from his family, to bring back home with him.

Behind him, he heard a shuffle of feet in the hallway. Turning around, he saw Katrina standing in the doorway.

"I thought you were already in bed, Princess."

"I couldn't sleep."

"No?" Rafe took a seat in the desk chair.

Katrina walked over to her father and climbed up in his lap. "I miss Grandma."

"I miss her too."

"She had to leave. She had to go back to heaven."

"Oh, I see."

Katrina suddenly remembered something. "Oh yeah." She gave her father a big hug and kissed him on his cheek. "That's from Grandma. She says she loves you."

Rafe smiled. "Come here, Princess. Let's go outside."

Katrina took her father's hand as he led her outside to the back porch. Once there, he picked her up. "You see all those stars up there?"

'Yeah. Grandma's up there in heaven."

"That's right. And you can talk to her anytime. She'll always hear you."

"That's what Grandma said. Let's talk to her, Daddy."

Rafe held Katrina tighter. "What do you want to say to her?"

"Um…what do I tell her, Daddy?"

"You tell her anything you want. Tell her how you feel."

Katrina looked up to the sky. "I love you, Grandma Kat. I miss you." Katrina turned to her father and smiled.

"I love you too, Mama," he said softly.

In heaven, Katrina was smiling. She had been so worried about her son before, but now she could see that her job was done. Everything would be just fine now.


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N**: Home at last! Transylvania was fun, but they had to come back to good ole Port Chuckles sometime! LOL! As far as baby Gabe is concerned, he wants to get out. _Trust me!_ LOL! But there are just a few things I need to wrap up, and THEN he will be born. I promise:)

Okay, if you remember, or even if you don't remember lol, I hinted in chapter 23 that _something_ was up w/ Livvie. You'll find out what it is in this chapter.

Katrina, of course, is adorable. Nothing new about that. I would like to take this moment to thank the kids I babysat a few summers ago. They inspired everything Katrina does in this chapter. LOL Well, until 30!

**Chapter 29**

Katrina sat at the kitchen table, wolfing down the last of her pancakes. "I'm done!" she announced and started to get up.

"Whoa, hold on just a second. Finish some of that orange juice," Alison said.

Katrina picked it up, taking a big gulp, then wiping her mouth with her shirt. "Now I'm done!"

Alison was about to say something to Katrina about using a napkin when the doorbell suddenly sounded.

"Ooo! Someone's at the door, Mommy!"

Alison looked out the kitchen window, seeing Livvie and Charlotte standing on the porch. "Go get it, Katrina. It's Aunt Livvie and Charlotte."

Katrina was already out of her seat, running towards the living room. She ran to the door and opened it. "HEY!"

Livvie laughed. "Hi, sweetie. Welcome home! Where's your mom?"

"She's in the kitchen. Come inside!"

Livvie and Charlotte followed Katrina inside, with Livvie shutting the door behind them.

"C'mere, Charlotte! I want to show you all the stuff I got!"

"Okay!"

"But shh, you got to be quiet upstairs, cause my daddy is sleeping."

"Okay," Charlotte whispered.

"Come on."

Katrina took Charlotte's hand and together, they ran up the stairs.

"Livvie!"

"Alison!"

The two women greeted each other with a hug.

"Oh wow, you look great!"

Alison rolled her eyes. "Oh, Livvie, just go ahead and say it. What you mean to say is that I look extremely pregnant."

"Well, that too," she laughed. "I'm so glad you're back. When I saw your message last night that you were home, I knew I'd have to race right over to see you!"

"I'm so glad to be back home too! Not that Romania wasn't fun, but I missed Port Charles."

"We missed you too."

"Come to the kitchen and we'll talk. I made some pancakes. You and Charlotte are welcome to some."

"Oh, thanks, but that's okay. We just ate. So is Rafe really upstairs sleeping? Usually it's the other way around, with him up at the crack of dawn instead of you."

Alison laughed. "I know. Me and Katrina slept practically the whole flight home and we're wide awake now, but Rafe's exhausted. I think I'm still on Europe time."

"So? Tell me all about Romania! How's the progress with the bed and breakfast coming along?"

Alison took a seat at the table. "It's going great. Rafe's so excited about it. You'll have to come see it when it's finished!"

"Of course I will!"

"And since we're keeping the house, we think maybe we'll go visit every summer or something like that. I think it would be good for the kids, you know, seeing where their daddy grew up and all." Alison suddenly started to laugh.

"What is it?"

Alison placed her hand on her belly. "Gabe just jabbed me, but it didn't hurt. He moves around all the time now. Oh, Livvie, I can't _wait_ until he's born. I just want to see him and hold him so bad. I know he's going to look just like Rafe. Don't you ever miss the time when Charlotte was a baby?"

"Yeah, because she wasn't running around all over the place."

"I just can't wait. We've wanted to have another baby for so long and it's hard to believe that it's almost time."

"Yeah. A baby certainly changes everything, huh?"

Alison nodded, then gave Livvie a huge smile. "Well, enough about me. So, how's everything in Port Charles? Did I miss anything exciting? Anything interesting happen while we were gone?"

"Oh, no, not really. It's just…you know, same ole, same ole." Livvie cleared her throat, averting Alison's gaze.

"I knew it!"

Livvie turned to Alison in surprise. "Knew what?"

"I knew that you were keeping something from me!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Livvie, come on. I _know_ you. There's that look on your face. I know something's up and I want to know what it is. Every time I talked to you on the phone this summer, you sounded so distracted. And now you're doing it again. Livvie, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

Alison didn't believe her. "_Livvie_."

"Okay! It's only the most unexpected and unplanned thing in the world."

Alison grew concerned. "What is it? Tell me."

"I'm pregnant! All right? There, I said it."

Alison's jaw dropped. "Livvie! Oh my god! Seriously? Oh my god, that's great news!"

"Are you kidding me?" Livvie laughed. "I swore months ago that Charlotte was _it_. Don't get me wrong, I love my little girl, but I can't imagine having another baby _now_! It's going to be crazy! You have it _so_ much easier, Alison. Katrina is like this little angel child from heaven that you and Rafe made, which really isn't surprising. But Charlotte…well, as much as I love her, she's a wild child."

Alison laughed. "Oh, I wouldn't say she's a wild child. She just gets her fiery spirit from her mother, that's all."

"Look, it's not that I don't enjoy being a mother. It's just that I always thought Charlotte would be a lot older before Jack and I had another baby, _if_ we had another baby, and then this happened. Now I'm going to have three babies."

"_Three babies?"_

"Yeah, this one, Charlotte, and _Jack."_

Alison laughed out loud. "Well, I can't help you with Jack, but I think this is the best time you could get pregnant. It'll be fun! Think about it. We'll do stuff together! We'll go shopping for baby clothes at Wyndham's and take our babies for stroller rides to the park and go have play dates. Oh! And we can even take those mommy and me classes together. I've always wanted to do that! Won't that be fun?"

Livvie smiled. "Well, yes, that is something to look forward to. But that doesn't change the fact that things are going to get crazier around my house."

"So how did Jack react to the news?"

"Oh, yeah, he fainted."

Alison laughed heartily. "Seriously, though, how did he react?"

"Seriously. He _fainted._"

Alison couldn't help but laugh, remembering what Jack went through the last time Livvie was pregnant and hormonal.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To appease Rafe's anxiety, Alison promised to schedule a doctor's appointment as soon as they got back, just to make sure everything was fine with her and the baby. So that afternoon, Alison, having other errands to run, called Serena over to babysit while she went out for a few hours.

Katrina followed her mother to her car. "Mommy! I wanna go with you! Can't I go with you?"

"No, baby doll. Not this time. I've got too much to do today."

"We'll have lots of fun, Katrina," Serena promised.

"Yes, that's right. You'll have a good time. You be a good girl for Serena, okay?"

Katrina nodded. "Okay."

"Serena, phone numbers are on the fridge. Call me if you need me. Or call Rafe. And Eve and Ian are right down the street if you need something. You can call them too."

"We'll be fine."

"Alright. See you later, sweetie." Alison leaned down and gave Katrina a quick kiss.

"Bye, Mommy." Katrina waved to her mother as she got into the car and backed out of the driveway.

"Bye," Alison called out, waving as she drove away.

"So, what do you want to do, kiddo?" Serena asked. "Watch a movie? Play a board game?"

Katrina grinned widely, eyeing Serena's white convertible. "Let's play in your car!"

"My car?"

"Yeah! Let's go for a ride with the top down!"

"No, we're not going for a ride."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

"Please!"

"No. We're not going for a ride in my car."

"Then let's play Drive-In! Can we play Drive-In?"

"I don't know. How do you play Drive-In?"

"Like on the Flintstones! You got to sit in the car and I'll come over and take your order. Go ahead, get in the car. Pretend you just drove up."

Sometimes these games seemed so silly to Serena, but she played along. Hey, she was getting paid for it.

"Okay, now I got to take your order. I'm going to be the waitress. Oh wait! I forgot something! Hold on, be right back!" Katrina suddenly ran back into the house. She returned a few minutes later with a pencil and notepad in her hand.

Katrina walked over to the car and gave Serena a smile. "What can I get for ya, hon?"

Serena laughed. The kid was playing the role of waitress very well. "I'll have a hamburger."

"Um….we don't have hamburgers. We're all out."

"Okay. Do you have hot dogs?"

"No, we don't have that either."

"Well can I at least get a Coke?"

"No soda. We only have kool-aid."

Serena sighed. "How about you tell me what you DO have."

"Okay, the specials today are peanut better and jelly sandwiches, baloney sandwiches, crackers, and cheese!"

"Alright, well then I'll have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

"What kind of drink do you want? We have red, grape and orange."

"I'll have orange."

"Actually, now that I think about it, I think we just have grape!"

"Then I'll take grape."

Katrina took her notepad and made some scribbles, pretending she was taking the order. "Okay! So that was a PB & J sandwich, and some grape kool-aid?"

"Right."

"Alright shug, be back in a jiffy with your order!" Katrina started to go back to the house. "Don't get out of your car! I'll be right back!"

Serena looked at her watch, hoping this wouldn't take too long. She turned on the radio and listened to music to pass the time.

Finally, Katrina came back. She was holding a plate with a sandwich in one hand and a grape juice box in the other. "Okay, here's your food!"

Serena looked down at the sandwich, peanut butter and jelly _everywhere_, just as a five-year-old would make it. But she had to admit, it had been a long time since someone had made her a sandwich. "Thank you."

"You're welcome! Now let's see, that'll be….um, a dollar!"

Serena opened her purse and pulled out a crisp one-dollar bill, handing it over to Katrina. "Keep it."

Katrina's eyes lit up, holding the dollar in her hand as if it were a hundred. "For real? I can keep it?"

Serena smiled. "Sure."

"Ooo, a whole dollar! I'm gonna put this in my piggy bank!"

"Hey, let's go inside. It's hot and I'm not going to eat this in my car. I just had the inside cleaned."

"Oh but not yet! It's your turn to be the waitress!"

"Well how about this time, we play restaurant? And if we play restaurant, we'll need a table."

Katrina thought about that for a moment. "Okay!"

Serena followed Katrina into the house and into the kitchen. Looking at the table, she noticed the mess left behind. Peanut butter and jelly jars, no lids. Two messy butter knives lying on the table. An open bag of bread. Sticky spots of peanut butter and bread crumbs everywhere. What a mess.

"Katrina, let's clean this up. We can't eat at a table like this."

Just as they started to pick up the things up off the table, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it, I'll get it!" Katrina shouted.

"No, Katrina! I'm the babysitter! You have to let me answer." Serena got to the door seconds before Katrina. She peered out of the peephole, realizing it was just Danny. Serena opened it. "Hi, Danny."

"Can Katrina play?"

"Hey, Danny! You want to play Restaurant? We've having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!"

"Yeah!" Danny was never one to turn down food.

"Right this way!" Katrina led the way to the kitchen. "Sit here, Danny. Serena, hurry up, we're hungry!"

Serena quickly cleared the table off. "Okay, I'll be right back with your sandwiches."

"No, Serena, you got to take our orders first! Just like they do at a real restaurant."

"Alright. Can I start you two off with some drinks?"

"Don't forget your notepad!"

Serena sighed, grabbing the notepad off the counter. "Alright, can I start you two off with some kool-aid?"

"I'll have some," Danny said.

"You got to tell us the specials!" Katrina reminded her.

"The specials today are PB & J sandwiches or baloney. So, what will it be?"

Katrina grinned widely. "I want PB & J!"

Serena turned to Danny. "What about you, kiddo?"

"Me too, but I don't want jelly on mine. But do you have any bananas?"

Katrina gave Danny a disgusted look. "Eww! Gross, Danny! You eat your sandwiches with _bananas_?"

"Only with peanut butter! It's good!"

Serena scanned the kitchen, noticing a fruit bowl on the counter. Luckily, there were several bananas in there. "Yep, we've got bananas. Okay, you two sit tight. I'll be right back with your sandwiches."

"Hey, Katrina? When you were in Transylvania, did you see any vampires?"

"No, not any real ones."

"Did you see any scary ghosts?"

"No."

"How about goblins?"

"No."

"Witches? Flying monkeys?"

Katrina laughed. "Those are only in Oz!"

"How about werewolves?"

"Nope."

"You didn't see _anything _scary? I thought Transylvania was where all the scary stuff was!"

"Well there _was_ this _big_ spider in my room! He was pretty scary! Daddy squashed him with his shoe!"

Suddenly, music started to play. Katrina and Danny looked around, wondering where it was coming from.

"What the heck is that?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, what the heck is that?" Katrina laughed.

"It's my cell phone." Serena reached into her purse to grab her phone, and her voice suddenly took on a much softer tone. "Hey, what's going on?"

Danny leaned over the table. "It must be her boyfriend," he whispered. Katrina laughed.

Serena talked on her phone as she placed sandwiches on the table.

"Hey, what about our drinks? I might die of thirst," Katrina complained.

"Oh, just babysitting," Serena said, reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out two juice boxes. "Yeah, you can come over."

"Hey, where's my banana?" Danny asked impatiently.

"Who's going to come over?" Katrina asked.

"No, Alison's cool. She wouldn't mind. What movies do you have?"

Danny watched as Serena placed a half-peeled banana in front of him. "You got to cut it up into slices."

Serena didn't hear him as she continued to talk.

"I'll do it for you, Danny." Katrina reached across the table and grabbed a butter knife left behind. She began to cut uneven slices.

"Hey! Stop! You're getting jelly on it! There's jelly on that knife."

"So?" Katrina licked the jelly off the knife. "It's good."

When Katrina went to cut up the rest of the banana, Danny quickly covered it up. "Eww! Don't put that knife back on my food! You licked it! It's got your cooties now!"

"I don't have cooties!"

"Shh, you two! I'm on the phone!" Serena hissed. "Sorry about that. What were you saying?"

Katrina went back to her seat and started eating her sandwich. She watched as Danny began placing the banana slices on his bread, then taking a big bite out of it.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm," he mumbled. "Hey, Katrina?"

"What?"

"You like seafood?" Danny opened his mouth wide open, showing the chewed up food in his mouth. "See? See food! Ha, ha, ha!"

Katrina watched him, thoroughly disgusted. It was then that Katrina decided that if _anybody_ had cooties, it was definitely Daniel Thornhart.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

There were three things Katrina missed while she was away. She missed her pony. That was one.

She missed playing with her friends. That was two.

And three, she missed those adorable little kittens over at Danny's.

So when Danny told her about how the kittens were moving around more now, Katrina _had_ to see them.

"Serena!" Katrina ran into the living room, blocking the television to get her attention. "Serena?"

"What?"

"Can I go over to Danny's? He's going to show me the kittens! He said they've gotten bigger and are walking around and everything!"

"Not now."

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because we're staying here."

"Well you can stay here if you want. I just want to go over there for a minute. Just a minute."

"Your mother said you weren't allowed to walk down the street by yourself, and I said we're staying here. So the answer is no. Maybe later, okay?"

Katrina frowned. "No fair."

"Sorry, kiddo. Those are the rules."

Danny turned to Katrina and whispered, "She's bossy when she babysits me too."

Katrina was about to complain again when she heard a knock on the door. She forgot for a moment that she was angry because she always loved it when someone dropped by. She raced to the door, reaching it first and opening it.

"Hi!" she said happily to the young man on the other end.

He looked around, wondering if he had the right house or not. "Um, is Serena here?"

"Hey, Neil, you've got the right house," Serena said. "Come in."

"Cool."

Danny looked up and smiled. "Hey, Neil! What's up man?"

"Hey, little dude!"

"Who are you?" Katrina asked.

"I'm Neil. And you must be Katrina."

Katrina turned to Danny. "Is he Serena's boyfriend?" she whispered.

"He's visiting his dad, Frank."

"Frank your daddy?" Katrina asked Neil.

"Yeah."

"How come you don't live with him?"

"Because I live with my mom in Paris."

"Oh. Is that near Transylvania? I just got back from there!"

"Um, well it's in Europe…"

"Did you bring the movie?" Serena asked him.

"Yep, have it right here."

"Are you Serena's boyfriend?" Katrina asked.

Serena wondered how many questions a kid could ask. "Katrina, how about you and Danny pick a movie and go watch it upstairs in your parents' room? Neil and I are going to watch one downstairs and it's not a movie you two would like."

"I don't want to watch a movie now," Katrina complained. She would still rather go see the kittens.

"Well you could eat some popcorn and pretend you were at the movie theater," she suggested.

"I want some popcorn!" Danny said.

Katrina suddenly changed her mind. If Danny wanted to watch a movie, so did she. "Let's go pick a movie, Danny!" She ran over to the entertainment unit and opened the cabinet, revealing all of her videos. "You want to watch _Sleeping Beauty_? It's one of my favorites."

"No way. That's a girl movie."

"How about _Toy Story_?"

"No. Let's watch something else."

Katrina rifled through her video collection, trying to find a movie that she hadn't seen in a while. She put her hands on one and smiled. "Ooo, we can watch _The Parent Trap_!"

"Nah."

Katrina frowned. "Well _you_ pick a movie then!"

Danny looked through the videos, tossing aside the ones he thought were too girly. Katrina sure had a lot of those. But he finally found one he could be excited about. "Oh! You got _Spy Kids II_!"

"Yeah, I love _Spy Kids_!"

"Cool! Let's watch this one!"

"You go upstairs and get the movie started, and while the previews are playing, I'll get the popcorn and drinks! And make sure to use the bathroom before it starts so you don't have to get up during the movie!"

"Okay." Danny ran upstairs with the video, and Katrina ran to the kitchen for a bag of popcorn.

Serena turned to Neil and smiled. "Didn't I tell you a movie would be a good idea? That should keep them occupied for at least a good hour."

"Alone at last," Neil said, kissing her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Everything looks great," Dr. Meadows said as she walked Alison down the hall after her checkup. "Just keep taking your prenatal vitamins."

"Well that'll be easy. Rafe never lets me forget."

Dr. Meadows smiled. "I'll see you at our next appointment."

"Thanks, Dr. Meadows."

"Take care."

As Alison made her way to the nurses' station, she saw a familiar face. Karen was sitting on the couch rifling through Nathan's baby bag for something. Alison walked over to say hello. "Hi, Karen."

Karen looked up with a smile. "Alison. Hey! I heard you were back in town. How are you?"

"I'm good. I just had a checkup with Dr. Meadows. Oh, Karen, he's just darling."

Karen shifted the baby to her other arm. "Thank you."

"He's grown so much since the last time I saw him!"

Karen handed the teething ring she was searching for to the baby. He grabbed it and put it straight in his mouth. "I know. Nate's a big boy, huh?" Karen said to the baby. "Frank swears up and down that he's going to be a football player when he gets older. I'm like, 'Frank, he's not even a year old yet!'"

Alison laughed, taking a seat beside her. "Can I hold him?"

"Oh, please, I could use a break." Karen handed the baby over to her.

"Hi, Nate! How's it going?"

"Say it's going good, thank you!" Karen said.

"I can't wait until Gabe's born."

"When are you due?"

"September 16."

"Oh, so you don't have too much longer!"

"No, just another month or so!"

"You hear that, Nate? You'll have a friend not too much longer! How's Katrina doing? I bet she's excited."

"Oh yeah, bouncing off the walls. She's starting to ask me everyday now when will Gabe get here. I keep telling her sometime after she starts school but she keeps asking."

"So how was your trip to Romania?"

"Oh, it's beautiful there. We had such a good time."

"Lucy said something about you guys starting a bed & breakfast there. Is that right?"

"Yeah. We're going to turn his old family home into one. It's such a big house, it's just really perfect for a bed and breakfast."

"Well I think that's great."

Just then, the baby started squirming. "I think he wants his mama back," Alison said, handing the baby over.

"Well, we should probably be going anyway. I promised Frank and Neil that I'd bring home something really good to eat tonight, and I still don't know what's for dinner." Karen laughed.

"Neil's here?"

"Oh yeah, I guess you don't know since you were out of town. Courtney had some work-related thing to do that required a lot of traveling, so Neil decided he'd like to spend a few weeks here with Frank and new baby brother."

"Oh, that's nice."

Alison's cell suddenly started to go off. "I better answer this."

"Well, I'll see you later."

"Bye, Karen. Tell Frank I said hello."

Alison turned to her phone, smiling as she saw Rafe's number highlighted on the little screen. "Hey."

"Hey, Angel."

"Where are you?"

"Still at the youth center, catching up on some things. Did you go to the doctor?"

"I'm at the hospital now. Just finished up."

"What did Dr. Meadows say?"

"She said the baby and I are the picture of health."

"Good. That's what I wanted to hear."

"Well, listen, I'm going to head home soon and start dinner, so don't stay out too late."

"I won't. I'll see you when I get home."

"I love you."

"I love you, angel."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina and Danny lay on their stomachs on the bed, watching the movie.

"I want to be a spy kid," Danny suddenly said.

"Me too!"

Danny sat up, suddenly getting a great idea. "Hey, let's play Spy Kids!"

"Okay!"

"You be Carmen and I'll be Juni."

"But we have to have a mission, right?"

"Yeah. Let me think. Hmm. Okay, I got it. We have to sneak downstairs and grab Serena's cell phone without her knowing."

"'Cause it plays good music?"

"No, not because it plays good music. We have to get it because," Danny looked around, making sure no one was in earshot. "Because it's got a bomb in it!"

"Oh no!"

"Yeah! If we don't get that phone before it goes off, this whole place is going to blow to smithereens!"

Katrina gasped.

"Shh! We have to be very quiet. Now just follow my lead."

"Okay," Katrina whispered.

Downstairs, Danny and Katrina crept, not making a sound.

"Look," he snickered, pointing over to the couch. "This is going to be _easy_."

Katrina looked, and immediately clapped her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing. Apparently, Serena and Neil were too busy kissing to notice them.

"Come on," Danny said, going down the last few steps. "We have to find the phone."

"It might be in her pocket book."

"Good idea. Let's check the kitchen."

Danny and Katrina crawled their way into the kitchen unnoticed, then raced for the counter where Serena's purse still lay.

"Is it in there?" Katrina asked.

Danny shook his head. "No, it's not here. She must have left it out in the living room. We're going to have to check and see."

Quietly, they snuck back into the living room, and that's when Katrina spotted it. "I see it, Danny."

"Where?"

"On the table by the couch. See?" She pointed.

"Oh man. That's too close. They'll definitely see us now. Okay, this calls for Plan B. We need some kind of distraction."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Let me think."

And suddenly, without warning, the cell phone began to ring.

"OH NO! GET DOWN!" Danny yelled, and he and Katrina hit the floor, covering their heads.

Serena and Neil looked at each other, a look of confusion on both of their faces.

"Hello?" Serena answered the phone.

"Hey, the bomb didn't go off," Katrina said.

"Whew. That was a close call."

"What are you two doing?" Neil asked.

"We're playing Spy Kids," Danny explained.

"Neil, it's Frank. He wants to talk to you." Serena handed Neil the phone. "Kids, I thought you were upstairs watching a movie."

"But there's a bomb and we have to get it before it goes off!" Katrina said.

"The bomb must be somewhere else because it didn't go off when the phone rang. We should keep looking."

"Well, I got to go," Neil announced, handing Serena's phone back to her. "Karen's on her way home with dinner."

"Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow?" Serena asked.

"Sure. Bye."

Danny and Katrina watched as the two of them kissed each other goodbye. They looked at each other and laughed, then began to sing the kissing song together.

_Neil and Serena_

_Sittin' in a tree!_

_K-I-S-S-I-N-G!_

"Hey, that's enough," Serena warned.

"See you later, rugrats," Neil said.

"Bye, Neil!"

Serena was about to tell the kids to go play again when another phone began to ring.

"OH NO! THE BOMB!" Danny yelled, and once again, Katrina and Danny hit the floor.

Serena rolled her eyes. "It's just a phone." Serena answered it. "Hello? Oh hi, Eve….Yeah, I'm over here babysitting Katrina….Yep, he's here….Sure, I'll let him know. Bye."

Danny looked up from the floor. "What's my mom want?"

"Your mom says it's time for you to go home."

"Oh man!"

"Hey! Can I go with him, Serena? To see the kitties?"

"No, I think they're about to have dinner. And besides, your mom is going to be home in a few minutes anyway."

"Oh, pooh," Katrina said. Would she ever get to see those kittens?

"Bye, Katrina. See you later."

"Bye, Danny."

"Well, looks like it's just me and you for now, kiddo. What do you want to do?"

Katrina grinned. "Let's go play in your car again!"

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The moment Katrina heard her mother's car pull into the driveway, she ran over to greet her.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

"Hi, sweetie." Alison had barely gotten out of the car before Katrina was already begging her for something.

"Mommy I wanna go over to Danny's to see the kitties can I? Can I? Huh?"

"I don't know, baby. It's getting late. It's almost time for dinner and Daddy will be home soon."

"Oh please, Mommy! Danny said they were the cutest little things and I could come over and see them anytime I wanted too! Please!"

"Hmm. Well maybe after dinner. We'll see."

Katrina grinned widely. Mommy didn't say no! "Come on, Mommy," she said, taking her mother's hand. "Let's go get dinner started now so we can hurry up and be finished with it!"

"Okay, but we've got to get the groceries first."

Katrina ran towards the trunk of the car and grabbed a few bags.

"So, how was everything?" Alison asked Serena.

"Great!" Serena grinned.

"Well good. I'll have to call on you to babysit more."

Katrina grinned widely, turning to her mother. "Serena pretended to watch a movie but really she just kissed her boyfriend the whole time!"

Serena turned bright red as she laughed nervously. "Ha, ha, kids say the funniest things."

Alison laughed. "It's okay. I don't mind if you had someone over. Come on inside, I'll pay you."

"Hey, Serena?" Katrina called out.

"What?"

"This is you and your boyfriend." Katrina pouted her lips and began kissing her hand.

Serena rolled her eyes and went inside.

Katrina laughed as she followed her. "Neil and Serena sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: **I apologize if this chapter seems scattered. It's really just a bunch of random scenes. Hopefully you'll like it anyway. Until 32...

**Chapter 31**

Katrina begged so much to see the kittens that after dinner, Alison finally gave in and called Eve, asking her if it was okay if they dropped by. Eve said yes, so Alison and Katrina headed on over there.

"Oh, Alison! Look at you!" Eve said when she opened the door. "You look great!"

Alison rolled her eyes. "Oh please. I look like a cow."

"Hey. Cows are very beautiful animals. And you're beautiful too."

Alison smiled. "Well, thank you."

"Well come on in."

"Where are the kitties?" Katrina asked impatiently, jumping up and down.

Before Eve could answer, Danny came running into the living room, the black and white kitten in his arms, and the two other kittens and their mama trailing behind.

"Right there," Eve said, and Katrina ran over to play with them.

Alison walked over to the couch to sit down. "Oh wow, they really are walking all over the place. I can't believe how big they've gotten. Last time I saw them, they barely had their eyes open."

Eve sat down beside her. "Yeah, they grow fast."

"What are you going to do with all of these kittens? Give them away?"

"Oh, you know what? I found out who the mama cat belongs to."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. The cat's owner is some elderly lady who lives like three streets over. Well evidently, she got really sick and her niece had to come and take care of her. She ended up bringing her back to her home in Canada. She wasn't even aware her aunt had a pet until she was well enough to speak and starting calling out for her cat. Anyway, to make a long story short, the niece made a few calls and somehow found out about my flyer and got in touch with me. So I told her that I would hold on to the cats until she was able to drive back down to New York to get the rest of her aunt's belongings. She said she'd pay me for my trouble but it was really no trouble at all. And she said if I could find homes for the kittens, that would be great, and if we couldn't, she'd just bring them back with the mama cat."

Alison watched Katrina and Danny playing with the kittens on the floor. "Well Danny certainly seems attached to them. I'm sure he'll be sad to see them go."

"We've actually decided to let him keep one. Danny begged, and Ian gave in. He said it was time for Danny to have a pet anyway. So, changing subjects, how was your trip?"

"Eve, Romania is so beautiful."

"Really? And here I thought Transylvania would be pretty creepy, considering you know who."

Alison laughed. "Well, maybe once it was, but no, it's kind of like a step back in time. Lots of old houses, plenty of countryside, farms animals, people riding around in horse and carriages."

"Seriously?" Eve laughed.

"Yeah. We had so much fun. And the best part was getting to see where Rafe grew up. He tries to hide it but I think he really misses it sometimes."

"Mommy! Look at him!" Katrina interrupted, laughing as she held the little yellow kitten in her arms.

"I see him, sweetie. I think he likes you."

"Oh, Mommy! Can I keep him?"

"Katrina, you have a pet already. You have a _pony_."

"Yeah but I can't keep a pony in the house 'cause it's too big! But a kitty is really small!"

"I don't know, sweetie."

"Oh please, Mommy! Please! He's so cute! Look at him, Mommy. He's purring 'cause he's happy. Please say yes!"

"Well…we'll see what your daddy says."

Katrina looked over to Danny and grinned. "That means I get to keep him!" she whispered. "Daddy will say yes. I know he will!"

"What are you going to name him?" he asked.

"Tiger, 'cause he looks like a little tiger."

"I'm going to call mine Dude."

Katrina laughed. "That's a silly name!"

"No it's not. Whenever I call him, I can just go, "'Hey, Dude!' Or 'Come here, Dude!'"

Katrina laughed. "You could call him Oreo 'cause he's black and white like an Oreo cookie! Or you could name is Sylvester, 'cause he kinda looks like Sylvester!"

"No, his name is Dude."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When they arrived home, Katrina wasted no time in asking her father about the kitten. She ran over to the couch where her father was. "Daddy! Daddy! Mrs. Eve is giving away the kittens! Can I get one? Please! Danny gets to keep one!"

"You really want a kitten, princess?"

"Uh huh! Please, Daddy! I want the little yellow one! He's _so_ cute. And I already have a name for him!"

Rafe smiled. "Well, I don't see why not. If it's okay with your mother, it's okay with me."

"Mommy said it was okay!"

"Well then it's settled!"

"YAY! I love you, Daddy!" Katrina gave her father a smacking kiss on his cheek before running up the stairs to her room.

Alison laughed softly, sitting down in the space Katrina had vacated. "Rafe, are you sure about this?"

"Sure, why not? I think having a pet will be a good thing for her. It'll teach her responsibility."

"Okay, but do you really want to bring another mouth to feed into this house when we already have a baby on the way?"

"It's a kitten. It's like this big." Rafe held his hands about six inches apart. "How much could it possibly eat?"

Alison gave Rafe a look.

"What? Well, I can't very well say "no" to her now. She loves that kitten. It would break her heart."

"Look, I don't have a problem with the cat. I just want you to be sure you know what you're getting yourself into. You do realize that you'll to have to help her out, don't you? I'll be busy with the baby. I don't have time to deal with a cat too."

"Well sure, but I think Katrina's old enough to know that she has to feed it and give it attention. And I think she will."

"What about cleaning out the litter box. Is she going to do that?"

Rafe frowned. He had not thought of that. "I suppose we may have to help her out a little with that."

Alison laughed. "No, sweetheart, _you_ have to help her out. Pregnant woman can't go anywhere near litter boxes. I could get toxoplasmosis. At least that's what Eve told me. And she's a doctor, so I should listen."

Rafe thought about that for a moment. "Maybe we should train that cat to go outside."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina watched her mother as she slept. She knew her mother liked to sleep, because Daddy was always saying that, but she wanted her mother to wake up.

Katrina traced her finger along her mother's cheek. She laughed when her mother moved her hand to her face, trying to move away whatever was tickling her.

Alison opened her eyes, realizing it was Katrina.

Katrina laughed. "Hi, Mommy."

"Hi, baby. Where's your daddy?" she asked with a yawn.

"In the shower."

Alison reached for the clock on the nightstand to check the time. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I want to go to the big school today."

"No sweetie. You don't go today."

Katrina placed her hands on her mother's rounded stomach, rubbing it in little circles. "But if I go today, maybe Gabe we'll come out. 'Cause you said Gabe would come when I started school."

Alison pulled her daughter close to her. "Oh, sweetie, I know you want to see your brother, and I know you want to start school, but it's just not time yet. But guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm going to go to work this morning, so I'm going to let you spend the day over at Danny's. So you can play with those kittens all you want. How does that sound?"

"YAY!"

Alison winced. "Not so loud, Katrina."

"Yay," she whispered.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alison waddled out of the restroom and gave a little sigh.

Holly, her part-time help, looked over at her with concern. "You okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine. It's just that if this baby makes me go to the bathroom _one more_ time. That must be the third time I've gone all morning." Alison slowly eased herself onto the barstool at the counter. "But I'm okay. Thanks for asking."

"When my mom was pregnant with my little sister, she was the same way."

"Did she recover?" Alison joked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good. There's hope for me." Alison turned her head up, then turned to Holly. "Is something burning?"

Holly's eyes flew wide open. "Oh my gosh! The muffins!" Holly jumped out of her seat and ran to the oven. She grabbed a mitten and opened the oven door, waving away the smoke as she pulled out a tray of semi-charred muffins. "Oh gosh! They're ruined!"

Alison made her way to the back to see how bad it was.

"Oh, Alison! I'm so sorry! I meant to take them out but I got distracted by a customer and I forgot to set the timer. I completely forgot about them!"

"Don't worry, it's okay."

"No, it's not okay. They're ruined! It won't happen again! I promise!"

Alison smiled. The poor girl was really upset about it. "Holly, really, it's okay. I've burned quite a few muffins over the years myself."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. We all have. And this really isn't so bad. The tops of some of these are still salvageable. We'll give them to Jack and Jamal. They'll eat them. They're boys. They'll eat anything."

Holly laughed. "Alright. I guess I'll go start on another batch, one that I _won't_ burn."

Just then, the phone rang. Alison picked it up to answer it. "Alison's Heavenly Delights. This is Alison speaking."

"Alison, hey." It was Lucy.

"Oh hi, Lucy! How are you?"

"I'm good. How are you doing?"

"Just fine."

"Listen, what are you doing Friday night?"

"Um, let's see, unless Gabe has any plans of coming early, nothing!"

"Good! Keep it that way."

"Why? What's going on?"

"I assume Livvie told you her good news, right?"

"Oh yeah, of course. I think I'm more excited about it than she is though." Alison laughed. "So what's going on Friday night?"

"A surprise baby shower, of course."

"Oh, Lucy! That's a great idea!"

"Yeah, I thought so. She's been so stressed about all of this lately, I think some baby gifts are just the thing to cheer her up."

"Definitely. Do you need me to help you with anything?"

"Not a thing except to make sure she gets here. I want to keep this a surprise, okay? So I'm going to give Livvie a call and tell her that I'm inviting you two over for a girls' night out evening. Movies, food, stuff like that. But of course, it's really going to be a baby shower."

Alison laughed. "Lucy, I love it!"

"I knew you would! Well look, I got to go because I have _a lot_ of planning to do! I'll call you later, alright?"

"Alright. Bye, Lucy."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over at the Ramsey house, it was complete and total chaos.

"Charlotte Ramsey! No running!" Livvie yelled as her daughter laughed and ran back into the living room, ducking under a table to hide.

Jack wasn't helping matters, egging her on as he chased her.

Livvie had one nerve left, and those two were on it. "Jack! Will you take her outside? Please! I need some peace and quiet!"

Jack stopped what he was doing, realizing that tone in her voice. "Come on, Char, let's play outside. Mommy needs some rest right now."

Charlotte giggled as she ran outside, slamming the screen door behind her.

"We'll just be outside if you need anything…"

"GO!" Livvie ordered.

Jack nodded, then rushed outside. He learned quickly not to anger Livvie when she was in one of her moods.

Livvie sat down on the couch, taking in a deep breath. But before she could relax, the phone rang. Livvie saw the cordless laying on the table across the room. She grumbled in frustration, realizing she would have to get up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Livvie! Hey! I need your help with something!"

"Not now, Lucy. I'm not in the mood."

"Oh, having a bad morning, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Lucy. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. It's just that everyone seems to be in such a good mood around here and I'm completely miserable. I haven't had a bite to eat all morning because I can't keep anything down. Charlotte's been driving me crazy. And I've got a splitting headache which I can't take anything for because I'm pregnant!"

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sure you're tired of me complaining. I did enough of that at dinner the other night."

"Oh don't be silly. You can vent to me as much as you want."

"What is it that you need, Lucy?

"I need to know what you're doing Friday night."

"Nothing. Why?"

"Remember when I told you that I was thinking of planning a baby shower for Alison?"

"Yeah."

"Well now that she's back, I thought I'd better go ahead and plan it, especially since her due date is creeping up on us."

"It sure is. What do you need me to do?"

"Just get Alison here. Can you do that?"

"Of course."

"Now listen, I want this to be a surprise, so I told her that I was planning sort of a girl's night out thing. Movies, food, all that good stuff. So just play along, okay?"

"Okay, no problem."

"Just call Alison sometime and make plans to go together. That way you can arrive at the same time and the rest of us will have time to set up the party. It'll be at seven o'clock."

"Sounds good."

"Oh, I got to run. I think I just heard Doc come home. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Bye, Lucy."

"Ta!" Lucy hung up the phone and grinned widely. Things were going just as she planned. Friday night, Alison and Livvie would be in for a surprise.


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N:**

Dearest Readers,

I apologize it's taken me a while to get a new chapter out. Things have been very hectic for me lately but I'm happy to say that things have calmed down and are finally back to normal.

AND, I want to tell you that this story is going to go _very quickly_ from now on. Most of it is already complete. (including Gabe's birth - which will be coming up soon - yay! ) I will be posting more often so keep checking back here for updates if you don't want to get behind!

Well, on to the chapter. Sort of a filler and kind of random but you might like it anyway. Until 33!

**Chapter 32**

Around lunchtime, Alison left work to pick up Katrina from the Thornhart's. It was a good thing she was leaving early. Lugging all of this extra weight around which was a baby sure made her feet hurt.

At the Thornhart's, Alison greeted her daughter with a kiss. "Hey, baby. Did you have fun with the kitties?"

Katrina looked up at her mother, her lips pouting in a frown. "No! They've been sleeping all morning! And Mrs. Eve said we couldn't wake them up."

"Oh. I'm sorry, sweetie. Kittens need their sleep."

"Alison, would you like to stay for lunch?" Eve offered.

Alison was about to politely decline, but she could smell something cooking in the kitchen. And besides, she was hungry. And apparently, Gabe was too. How could she say no? "Okay, sure. I'd love to."

"Danny, why don't you and Katrina go play?" Eve suggested.

"Hey, Katrina? Remember what we were going to do earlier?"

Katrina suddenly smiled, forgetting all about the kittens. "Oh yeah!"

Danny turned to his mother. "Mom, can we go outside and dig?"

"Dig? Why do you want to dig?"

"Because we're going to look for buried treasure!"

Eve laughed. "Okay, but don't dig big holes in the middle of the yard. Dig by the house or somewhere."

"Okay!" Danny said as he and Katrina ran out the screen door.

Eve glanced over at Alison and smiled. "Kids."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, Danny? How do you know that there's buried treasure here?" Katrina asked as she and Danny worked on digging a pretty good-sized hole. Danny had the bright idea of using his mother's garden shovels instead of the plastic ones he used for the sandbox, and they seemed to work much better.

"Oh, I don't know for sure. But I figure if we keep looking, there's gotta be _something_."

"How come?"

"I saw on TV one time these guys who found a bunch of money buried in their backyard. They got rich. See, a long time ago before there were banks, people would hide their money so no one would steal it, and sometimes they buried it in their backyards. So when they died, the money was still there, and that's how people find it."

"My daddy says when people die, all of their money goes to their kids."

"Yeah, but if they hid the money, they won't know where it is. And finders keepers, losers weepers!"

Katrina laughed. "Yeah!"

"I bet we'll find a million dollars! When we do, we'll split it."

"We're going to be _rich_!"

"What are you going to spend your money on?"

"I'm going to buy a car. A white convertible just like Serena's. And then like a hundred horses! A whole field of them! I'll ride all of them every day. Then I'm going to buy all the clothes at Wyndham's for my mommy. That's what I'm going to buy. What are you going to get?"

"I'm going to buy a boat."

"Cool!"

"Yeah, it's going to be awesome. I'll use it to go hunting for buried treasure in sunken ships! I think I'll name it the "Gold Hunter."

"No, don't name it that, cause then everyone would know you got gold on it. They might try to steal it."

"Yeah, good point. Hey, you know what?"

"What?"

"If we dig deep enough, we can dig a hole all the way to China!"

"Really?" Katrina asked excitedly.

"Yep. But we gotta dig _really_ deep though! And it might take a while."

"Can we dig a hole all the way to Transylvania?"

Danny shrugged his shoulders. "I guess. But we may not want to do that, because then all the vampires living there would have a tunnel to go through and then they'd end up here!"

"I didn't see any vampires in Transylvania when I went there. Not a _real_ one anyway."

"Well I'm not taking any chances! I was kidnapped by a vampire one time!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Yes-huh!"

"You're making that up, Danny!"

"No I'm not! Ask my dad!"

"Well, you wouldn't have to worry, cause if a vampire _did_ come here, my Daddy would kill it. He's a vampire slayer. Did you know that?"

"For real? Like Buffy?"

"Yeah, but better. Cause he's my daddy!"

"That's pretty cool."

"I'm a vampire slayer too!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "You are not! You can't be one if you're a kid!"

"Yes you can. Cause if your daddy is one then you get to be one automatically."

Danny thought about that one for a second. Yeah, that did make sense.

"Hey! I got something!" Katrina cheered, hitting something hard with her shovel.

"Ooo! What is it?"

"I don't know! But see it? It's kinda hard. Help me dig!"

"Maybe it's a box of treasure!" Danny hoped as he continued to dig.

"Or maybe it's gold!"

"Yeah! Maybe gold nuggets! Let's keep digging!"

Together, they dug around the hard object buried in the dirt. Finally, they had cleared enough dirt around it to get a clearer picture.

"What is it?" Katrina asked, peering over Danny to get a better look.

Danny used his shovel to dig out whatever it was that was stuck in the ground. It was obvious from the look on his face that he was very disappointed.

"It's just a stupid _rock_!" he complained, picking it up and throwing it across the yard.

"Maybe it's a magic rock," Katrina said, getting up to retrieve the rock. She dusted the dirt off with her finger.

"Don't be stupid. It's just a plain ole rock!"

Katrina shrugged her shoulders, looking closely at the rock, which had flecks of different color in it. She decided she liked it anyway, even if it wasn't real treasure.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So, are you sure you want to take one of the kittens?" Eve asked, taking a few plates out of the cabinet.

"Well, we can't change our minds now. Rafe already promised her. I don't think he realizes how much work it will be. Kittens are babies too."

"I'm a little surprised at Rafe. He's a pretty smart guy."

"Oh, I'm not surprised. When it comes to Katrina, Rafe always gives in. He spoils her. She's his little princess."

"Speaking of her," Eve said, hearing the screen door slam.

"Mrs. Eve! Mrs. Eve!" Katrina shouted, running into the kitchen.

"Yes, Katrina?"

"Um…Danny said 'dookey-head'."

"To you?"

"No. He said it to a worm!"

Eve held back her laugher. "Well you just tell him the word police will come after him for saying something like that."

Katrina nodded, then ran out of the room. "Danny! The word police is gonna come get you!"

Alison and Eve laughed.

"I swear, when my daughter starts school, the teacher is going to write me notes home everyday about Katrina being the class tattletale."

"Well that's better than what Danny's teacher writes home to me. I have to hear about him singing the diarrhea song during recess."

xxxxxxxxxxx

Not long after Alison and Katrina got back home, there was a knock at the door. Alison got up from the couch to answer it.

"Hi, Alison," the woman said.

"Um…hi…." Alison recognized the woman's face, but she couldn't for the life of her remember her name.

"Jessie."

"Oh, right! I'm sorry, come in. What brings you by?"

"I'm here to pick up Katrina for her riding lessons."

"Um, riding lessons?"

Jessie nodded. "It's Tuesday, remember?"

"I wasn't aware that she had riding lessons today."

"Oh. Well, Mrs. Barrington said she discussed this with you already. She just sent me over to pick her up."

"JESSIE!" Katrina ran down the stairs and over to Jessie, greeting her with a hug.

"Hi, Katrina!"

"Do I get to ride my pony today?"

Jessie looked over at Alison, sensing her hesitation. "If this is a bad time, we can always reschedule. I'm very flexible."

"Mommy! I want to go riding! Can I?"

"No, that's fine. She can go," Alison told Jessie. "It just slipped my mind that she had lessons today."

"YAY!" Katrina cheered.

"I guess she needs her riding clothes. I'll just run upstairs and get them."

"Oh no need. Mrs. Barrington bought her more clothes last week."

"Oh course she did," Alison said softly. "Okay, baby. Have fun!" Alison gave her daughter a kiss goodbye.

"Bye, Mommy!"

"She won't be gone too long, will she?"

Jessie shook her head. "Oh no, just a few hours. I'll bring her back before supper."

"Okay. Bye." Alison watched as Katrina and Jessie climbed into the back of her grandmother's limousine and headed out the driveway. She closed the door and laughed out loud. This was just like her grandmother.

Alison marched over to the phone and called her.

"Barrington residence," Amanda answered cheerfully.

"Nana! When were you going to tell me you scheduled riding lessons for Katrina today?"

"Well hello to you too, darling. Did Jessie pick Katrina up already?"

"Yes, they just left. Nana, why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I did, darling. Don't you remember? I told you that as soon as you arrived back from Romania, I would be scheduling regular lessons for her. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday."

"Nana, she's five! Don't you think that's a little excessive?"

"Well if she's tired, we'll cut back. But I want her to get in as much riding as possible before school starts. She's already missed so much since you were gone."

Alison sighed as she sat down in the chair. "Nana, I want you to promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"I want you to promise that this is not going to be like the time you made me take piano lessons when I was seven."

"What do you mean? You loved playing the piano."

"No I didn't, Nana. I hated it! I mean, sure, I liked it at first, but then you made me practice _all the time_ and I started to hate it."

"Well I never realized that. Alison, why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to disappoint you."

"You would have never disappointed me, Alison."

"Nana, look, you and I both know that Katrina loves riding. And if she wants to ride her pony all day long, that's fine. I will support her 100 percent. But I don't want this to become something she starts to hate, or something she does just to please you. Alright?"

"Alison, I hardly think you have to worry about that. She's having a great time. I'm sure of it."

"Well that's what I want to hear."

"Katrina was practically born to ride. If she keeps up with her lessons, there's no telling how far she will go."

"Nana, again, she's only five."

"Alison, the most talented equestrians have always learned at an early age. Why, Jackie Kennedy was already competing in horse shows by the time she was five. These lessons will be good for her. Oh, that reminds me. Do you remember Mildred Thompson?"

"Mildred Thompson?"

"From the country club."

"Was she that woman who always wore that ugly flowered hat and carried around that ridiculous poodle of hers as an accessory?"

"Alison, that's not a very nice thing to say."

"Oh, please, Nana, you can't stand that woman either."

"Well anyway, her granddaughter, I think her name is Chelsea, or Charity, something like that. She's Katrina's age, and Mildred was saying that she just signed her up for riding lessons. Well let me tell you, if she rides anything like her grandmother, she won't stand a chance, and she certainly won't stand a chance against our little Katrina."

Alison glanced at her watch. It was time for her afternoon nap. "Nana, I'm going to go now. I'm tired."

"Okay, fine dear. But I'm telling you, Katrina is a born rider. And that Mildred Thompson, always thinking she's better than anyone else. I can't wait until our Katrina shows her granddaughter a thing or two about how to ride a horse."

Alison yawned. "Okay. Goodbye, Nana," Alison said, hanging up the phone before her grandmother went on a tangent about people from the country club.

As she reached over to the side of the recliner, pulling the lever to rest her feet, she saw the picture on the table. Alison reached for it to get a closer look. It was Katrina at her last birthday party, standing proudly beside her beloved pony Cookie. Her nana had certainly been right about one thing. She absolutely adored that pony of hers.


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: another chapter!**

**Chapter 33**

"Where you going, Mommy?" Katrina asked as she watched her mother walk down the stairs, her purse over her shoulder.

"I'm going to Lucy's." Alison shuffled some papers around the coffee table. "Rafe, have you seen my cell phone anywhere? I can't find it."

"I think you left it on the kitchen counter."

"Oh that's right." Alison left the room.

Katrina turned to her father with a big grin. "Is Mommy going to her surprise party?"

"Shh! Not a word, Princess!"

Katrina giggled. She loved secret surprises.

Alison walked back into the living room. "Found it. I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached."

"Guess what, Mommy!"

"What?"

Rafe turned pale, fearing Katrina would spoil the surprise.

"Daddy and I are going to the pet store! Daddy says we need some things before we bring Tiger home."

"Well that sounds like fun."

Just then, they heard a car horn outside. "Well, that would be Livvie. I'm off." Alison kissed Rafe goodbye. "See you tonight."

"Bye. Have fun."

Alison bent down and kissed Katrina on the head. "Bye, baby. Have fun with Daddy."

"Bye, Mommy." Katrina watched her mother as she walked out the door. "Mommy's gonna love her surprise party!"

Rafe smiled. "I'm sure she will."

"Daddy, can we go now?"

"We haven't finished our list yet."

"But the sooner we go to the store and get the stuff, the sooner we can bring Tiger home!"

Rafe smiled. "But if we don't finish our list, we might forget something Tiger needs."

"Let's finish the list in the car. That's what Mommy does when we shop for groceries." Katrina hopped up from the couch and grabbed her shoes off the floor.

Rafe gave in. "Alright, princess. I suppose once we get there, we'll figure out all we need."

Katrina looked up at her father and gave him a big smile. "And then we can bring Tiger home! Right?"

"Right."

"Tonight?"

Rafe frowned. "Not that soon, princess."

"Tomorrow?"

"We'll see."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Well, here we are," Livvie said as she drove up to the lighthouse and slowed the car to a stop. "It was such a good idea of Lucy to have a girls' night out thing." She couldn't wait to see the look on Alison's face when she realized this was actually a surprise baby shower for her.

"Yeah, it was. I wonder what movies we'll watch," Alison said, playing along. Livvie still had no clue this was a surprise shower for her.

"My vote's for _Dirty Dancing_," Livvie said with a smile.

Alison opened the door and slowly eased herself out of the car. It was getting so much more difficult to get around these days. She hoped her due date would hurry up and get here so that she could at least see her feet again.

Livvie waited for Alison at the front step, then knocked on the front door. She waited for a moment, but no one answered.

Then Alison knocked on the door. "Lucy? It's Alison and Livvie."

"Door's open! Come in!" Lucy called out.

Livvie opened the door and the two walked in.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone called out.

Balloons and flowers were everywhere. On the table was a huge bowl of punch and snacks. On the opposite table, there was a mountain of presents. And across the room, a huge banner was hung. "Congratulations Livvie and Alison!" it read.

"Oh my gosh, what is this?" Livvie said.

Alison looked across the room, seeing her grandmother smiling at her. It dawned on her what this was all about now. "Lucy, this was supposed to be a surprise for Livvie. Not me too!"

Lucy smiled. "Oh don't be silly. You really think I was going to pass up the opportunity to give both of your girls a baby shower?"

"Lucy, you don't need to give me a shower," Livvie protested. "This should be for Alison. She's the one about to give birth. I'm only a couple of months along."

"Oh nonsense, it's more fun this way." Lucy took both Alison and Livvie's hands and led them to the couch. "Besides, I've never planned a double shower before."

Alison and Livvie gave each other a smile as someone handed them each a glass of fruit punch.

"Okay, now we can have fun!" Lucy announced. "Someone hand me that tape measurer. Who wants to go first and guess how big Alison is?"

"Oh god, not this game," Alison muttered.

Livvie laughed. "I'm so glad I'm not as far along as you."

"Don't worry, Livvie," Lucy said, tape measurer in hand. "We have fun games planned for you too."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"How was it?" Rafe asked, seeing Alison walk through the front door. "Did you have fun?"

"You knew. You were in on it."

"Lucy swore me to secrecy."

Alison sat down on the couch beside him. "It was great. And a nice surprise."

Katrina ran into the living room, having heard her mother's voice. "Mommy! Mommy! You're home!"

"Hi, sweetie." Alison kissed her. "Did you have fun with Daddy?"

"Yeah. Did you have fun at your party?"

Alison laughed. "You knew too?"

Katrina shook her head.

"Yes, I had fun."

"Did you practice washing babies?"

"What?"

"Daddy said you and Aunt Livvie were at a baby shower. Did you wash babies while you were there?"

Alison laughed out loud. "No, sweetie. They call it a baby shower because they shower us with baby gifts. That's just a fancy way of saying I got a lot of presents."

Katrina's eyes lit up. "Where? I love presents!"

"They're at Lucy's. I'll pick them up later. But I did bring a few things home." Alison picked up a small bag she had carried inside. She reached inside, pulling out one of her gifts. It was a small stuffed animal.

"Ooo! He's cute!" Katrina grabbed the little elephant. "It's soft."

"It's a rattle."

Katrina gave it a little shake. "Hey yeah, it is a rattle!" Katrina laughed, loving the sound of the little bells inside. "Hey, Mommy, we got some stuff too! For Tiger! You wanna see?"

"Sure."

Katrina threw the rattle back into the bag and hopped off the couch. On the floor were several bags from the pet store. Katrina rummaged through them. "We got a litter box." She showed her mother. "And look. We also got a pooper-scooper. For scooping poop," Katrina laughed, holding up the scooper. "And look, a collar! It's blue 'cause Tiger is a boy cat. And we got some bowls for his food. Daddy said we can write Tiger's name on them!"

"I think that's a great idea. What else did you get?"

"Lots of toys!" Katrina poured out several cat toys onto the carpet. "He's gonna be one happy cat!"

Alison laughed. "I'm sure he will with all of those toys."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was half past midnight, and Alison couldn't sleep. It was hard to get comfortable, and when she did, inevitably, Gabe would wake her up with his kicking.

She sat on the couch, flipping through a book and drinking a glass of cold milk.

"Mommy?"

Alison turned to the stairs, seeing a sleepy Katrina walk down the stairs. She yawned as she rubbed her eyes.

"What are you doing out a bed, sweetie?"

Katrina climbed up onto the couch. "I can sleep. I'm too excited about Tiger. Daddy said we can bring him home tomorrow."

"Oh, I see."

"What's that?" Katrina pointed to the book in her mother's hand.

"This? It's Gabe's baby book."

"But Gabe's not born yet."

"We can still add a few stuff to it though." Alison turned a page. "See there? There's a picture the doctor took of Gabe. We can put that picture in there."

"Where's my baby book, Mommy?"

"Go look in that cabinet over there."

Katrina walked over to the cabinet and looked around.

"Do you see it?"

"Oh yeah! Here it is!" Katrina said, taking out her baby book. Every now and then, Katrina liked to look through her baby book, but it had been a long time since she had looked at it. She brought the book to the couch and sat down beside her mother to look through it again.

"There's my hair!" Katrina said proudly, pointing to the little blonde lock of hair on the first page.

"Look at that," Alison said, pointing to the pair of bracelets. "That's the bracelet the hospital made Mommy wear, and there's the bracelet you wore. Look how tiny it is."

Katrina giggled. "I was a tiny baby."

"You were a beautiful baby," Alison said, pulling her daughter close to her and kissing her head.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Well, here you go. Take good care of him," Danny said, passing the little orange kitten over to Katrina.

"Hey, Tiger! We're going to have so much fun!" she said, giving the kitten a kiss on his head.

Katrina brought the little kitten home and played with him literally all day.

"See, I told you this would work out," Rafe said, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"What's that?" Alison asked, taking a pan of muffins out of the stove.

"You said having a kitten around the house would be too much trouble. But as far as I'm concerned, things have gone rather well. Katrina even remembered to feed him. I didn't have to tell her anything."

"That's good."

"That's great. You see? Having a pet is teaching her responsibility." Rafe grinned. He liked when things worked out.

Suddenly, they heard Katrina in the other room. "Uh oh!" she yelled. "Bad kitty!"

"So things are going great, huh?" Alison teased.

"I better go see what happened," Rafe said, rising from his chair.

Rafe walked into the living room to see Katrina standing over the kitten with a pointed finger, scolding him.

"Bad kitty! Bad, bad, kitty! I ought to give you a spankin'!"

"Katrina, what's the matter?"

Katrina turned to her father. "Tiger peed on the floor!"

Alison walked into the living room to see for herself what had happened. She looked at Rafe and laughed softly. "You're helping her clean that up."

"Alright, Princess. Go to the kitchen and get some paper towels, and I'll go get the carpet cleaner."

"Okay."

Rafe looked down at the kitten, who was now rubbing against his legs and purring at him, as if nothing had happened. Tiger looked up at Rafe, giving him an innocent look.

"Bad, Tiger," he said.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, as Rafe prepared to go to bed, he went to Katrina's room to check on her.

She was fast asleep, holding on to the kitten. The kitten looked up at Rafe, but couldn't really leave the bed as Katrina was holding him down. "No peeing in the bed, Tiger," he whispered.


	34. Chapter 34

A/N: Another one of my random chapters. Enjoy!

Oh, and Gracie, don't worry, this is not the beginnings of "my" Danny turning into a pig lol. I'm simply writing how I think a typical six-year-old boy would probably act towards a girl. ;)

Oh, and for those of you (or all of you I suppose) that are anxious for Gabe to be born (yeah, seriously, ME TOO!) well it takes place not in this chapter and not in the next chapter but the **chapter after that :)**

happy reading...until 35!

**Chapter 34**

Rafe looked out the kitchen window and laughed. "Alison."

"Yeah?"

"Come here and look at Katrina. She's riding her bike with that cat in the basket."

Alison looked outside and laughed. "She loves that cat. I caught her yesterday trying to put a diaper and bonnet from one of her dolls on him."

"Now don't be scared, Tiger," Katrina said softly. "This will just be a fun little ride for you."

Most cats would probably attempt to jump out, but Tiger was curious about the whole experience, popping his head out every now and then to see where they were going.

Just then, Danny came riding down the street on his bike. Spotting Katrina with her bike, he stopped in front of her.

"Hey, you wanna ride bikes?" he asked.

Katrina's eyes lit up. "Yeah!"

"Come on!" Danny started pedaling, and Katrina followed.

"Hey, wait!"

Danny stopped his bike. "Well are you comin' or not?"

"Mommy and Daddy said I have to stay in front of the house."

"No, that's no fun," Danny said. "We have to ride around the _whole neighborhood_."

"But I'll get in trouble."

"Well I'm going. You probably can't go very fast on your bike anyway."

"Yes I can!"

"No you can't. Not with those baby wheels. How come you still got those baby wheels on your bike anyway?"

"They're not baby wheels! I just have them so I won't fall off."

"I never had them on my bike. I never needed them!"

"Well Daddy said I need them."

"Only babies need baby wheels. I'm going home." With that, Danny turned his bike around and pedaled back towards his house.

"I'm not a baby!" Katrina called out.

Danny hadn't heard her. He was already halfway home.

Katrina seethed, marching into the house and straight into the kitchen where her father sat at the table.

"Daddy?"

Rafe turned to Katrina and smiled. "Yes, Princess?"

"Will you take the baby wheels off my bike?"

"Baby wheels?"

"Yeah! Cause I'm _not_ a baby!"

"Princess, those are _training wheels_. They keep you from falling off your bike until you're ready to ride without them."

"But Danny doesn't have them on his bike!"

"Danny doesn't need training wheels. He knows how to ride a bike without them."

"But he said he never had them. He said only babies need baby wheels!"

Rafe reached over and touched his daughter's chin, lifting up her face up to his. "Princess, now would be a good time to learn a very important lesson. You don't always have to listen to everything Daniel Thornhart says."

"Can you take them off, Daddy?" Katrina begged again.

"Oh, Rafe, take them off," Alison said, who had been listening to their conversation as she prepared dinner. "She's never going to learn how to ride unless you do."

"What if she falls?"

"Jamal gave her a helmet last Christmas. Let her wear that."

Rafe considered this. That was a very good idea. And he supposed Alison was right. She had to learn eventually.

"Please, Daddy!"

"Alright. I'll take them off."

"YAY!"

"Now you understand that once I take those training wheels off, you won't be able to ride by yourself anymore. At least not until you learn how."

"Okay! Can you take them off now?"

Rafe laughed. "Alright. I suppose we have just enough time before dinner to do just that."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

After dinner, Katrina practically insisted on riding her bike. It was still light out, so Rafe figured why not? He reached up on the shelf in the garage to retrieve Katrina's helmet as she hopped on the bike.

"Hold on, Princess. Let's put this on first." Rafe helped her put the helmet on.

"Where's Tiger? We got to put him in the basket."

"No, not this time. It's not a good idea to have an animal in the basket when you're learning how to ride your bike. Beside, he's too busy sleeping."

Katrina looked around. "Where?"

Rafe pointed to the top shelf of the garage, where Tiger was napping.

Katrina laughed out loud. "Hey! How'd he get up there?"

"He's a good climber. Okay, you ready to ride, Princess?"

"Uh huh!"

"Now hold on and pedal, okay? Don't worry about falling because I'm not going to let go."

"Let's go! Let's go!"

Rafe steered the bike out of the garage and down the driveway, turning where it met the road.

"Let's go faster, Daddy!"

Rafe moved the bike a little faster down the street as Katrina pedaled harder.

"Keep pedaling, Katrina!"

Katrina laughed. "I'm doing it!"

"Let's practice turning around." Rafe then slowed the bike down, turning it around the cul-de-sac and back towards the house.

Katrina laughed the whole time. She hoped she would learn how to ride by herself soon. Then she couldn't wait to show Danny that she didn't need baby wheels anymore!

The next day, Alison spent a few hours at the bakery, while Rafe spent the afternoon at home with Katrina.

Katrina wandered into the garage where she found her father working on the lawn mower.

"You gonna cut the grass, Daddy?"

"If I can get this tire fixed, yeah."

"You going to put a new one on it?"

"I think it just needs air."

Katrina walked over to her bike, inspecting the tires on it. "Do my bike tires need air, Daddy?"

Rafe gave her a smile. "No, Princess, your tires are just fine."

"Daddy, I want to ride my bike. Will you help me?"

"Not now, Princess. I've got some things I have to do first. But we'll ride later."

Suddenly, the phone was ringing. "That's probably your mother. I'll be right back."

Katrina watched as he raced back into the house to answer it.

Looking outside, Katrina watched some of the older neighborhood kids. They whizzed by on their bikes, making it look so easy.

Katrina placed her hands on her bike handles. Oh how she wished she could ride her bike too! But it looked like Daddy was going to take a while, and she didn't want to wait that long.

Maybe, she figured, she could do it. Maybe riding wasn't so hard. She almost had the hang of it yesterday. Maybe today, she could ride by herself!

Katrina pushed the kickstand up and walked her bike to the end of the driveway where the sidewalk began.

How hard could it be?

She hopped on her bike, making sure her feet were on the ground to hold herself up. She slowly put one foot on a pedal and pedaled forward. And when she finally felt confident enough, she put her other foot on the pedal.

The bike leaned to the right, and Katrina was quick to place her foot down to hold herself up. Then she tried again.

Slowly, she pedaled forward, then moved faster. And for one brief moment, she was doing it! She was riding on her bike all by herself!

It was at that very moment when she lost her balance and crashed to the ground.

Rafe had just walked back into the garage when he heard Katrina crying. He panicked as any concerned father would as he raced over to where she was, laying on the sidewalk with the bike on top of her.

"Daddy!" she cried when she saw her father.

"It's okay, Princess," he soothed, moving the bike aside and holding her in his arms. "Where does it hurt?"

Katrina sobbed louder as she held up her bloody elbow. Rafe noticed her knee was bleeding too.

"You'll be okay," he said, scooping her up into his arms.

"I'm…I'm…I'm…bleeding!" she cried.

Rafe carried her into the house and straight into the bathroom. Once he sat her down and gave her some tissue to stop the bleeding, she had calmed down considerably. Rafe was relieved, for he had been afraid that her injuries were much worse. But it looked like just a few scrapes and minor cuts, no more than that.

"Oh, you'll be just fine, Princess. Just a little scrape. Nothing we can't fix."

Katrina sniffled as she moved the tissue to see the cut on her elbow. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but the tissue was bright red with blood.

"We need some Band-Aids," Rafe said, looking into the bathroom cabinet and getting out the cartoon bandages which Katrina loved.

He was about to grab the alcohol when instead, he noticed an antiseptic spray for kids. He grabbed that instead and read the label. Alison must have bought it. She sure thought of everything.

"Okay, let's get you all cleaned up. Is it still bleeding?"

Katrina removed the tissue she had been holding over her cuts. "No."

"Good. Let's put some of this on it."

Katrina eyed the little spray bottle and panicked, moving her arm away from him. "No! It'll sting!"

"This isn't alcohol, Princess. It won't sting."

"Yes it will!"

"It says right here on the label, _no sting_. So it won't sting."

"You promise?"

Rafe knelt down beside his daughter, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I tell you what. If it does sting, I'll take you out for ice cream. But you have to let me put this on. Deal?"

"Okay," Katrina said reluctantly. She closed her eyes tightly and held her elbow out, not wanting to see it happen.

Rafe sprayed her elbow, and Katrina opened her eyes. She could hardly believe that was it! "Hey! It didn't sting!"

Rafe laughed. "I told you it wouldn't. Now, let's get these cuts bandaged up." Rafe sprayed the cut on Katrina's knee as well, then got out the band-aids and patched her up. "There, good as new."

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Can we still go out for ice cream?"

Rafe laughed. He should have known mentioning ice cream would make Katrina get a bad craving for it. "Sure, we can go right now."

"Yay!"

xxxxxxxxxx

After she fell off her bike, Katrina refused to ride again.

It broke Rafe's heart, because honestly, she almost had the hang of it! And yet, the bike remained in the corner of the garage, untouched.

Everyday, Rafe would ask, "Princess? You want to try riding your bike?"

And every time, she would reply, "No, I don't want to. Riding a bike is too hard." Then she would go off and play somewhere else.

Then one day about a week later, Katrina said something different. She decided she did want to ride it! At first, Rafe was elated, until he heard his daughter say, "Daddy, put the training wheels back on it first!"

Rafe looked down at his daughter, and he couldn't believe it. "Katrina, I'm not going to put the training wheels back on your bike."

Katrina looked at her father in surprise. "Why not?"

"Because number one, I had a heck of a time taking them off, so there's no way I'm going to attempt to put them back on. And number two, you're a Kovich, alright? And a Kovich never gives up."

"But I'll fall if I don't have them!" she whined.

"Well I don't want you to fall either, Princess. But sometimes it takes us a while to learn things, and the only way for us to learn is to keep trying." Rafe smiled, suddenly having an idea. "Come here. I want to show you something."

Katrina followed her father over to a trunk where Alison had started to keep mementos, cards, and other things worth saving. Rafe searched through it, finding what he was looking for.

"You see this?" Rafe held up a piece of paper with scribbles all over it.

"Who did that?"

Rafe smiled. "You did! You were just learning how to write your name."

Katrina took the paper, confused at what she saw. "I didn't do this, Daddy."

Rafe laughed. "You don't remember, but you did. But that was a long time ago, just when you first stated writing letters."

"I didn't do a good job!"

"You use to have the hardest time writing a "K". Sometimes you'd get so mad that you couldn't make it perfect that you'd crumple up the paper in a ball and throw it across the room."

Katrina laughed. "Ks are easy!"

"Well they're easy now! Writing your name isn't hard for you anymore because you've had a lot of time to practice. And you see, that's just how it is for bike riding. You're never going to get good at it if you don't practice again."

Katrina smiled. "Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"I think I want to go try to ride my bike again!"

"That's my girl," Rafe said, giving her chin a tickle. "Go get your helmet."

Katrina smiled, then ran out of the room.

Rafe picked up the paper, looking again at all of the scribbles and first attempts at writing. Alison had warned him about this. She warned him that one day, he would realize that his little girl was growing up before his very eyes. And now, he knew. "You've come a long way, Princess," he said, then putting the paper back into the trunk.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alison stepped outside with a pint of rocky road ice cream and took a seat on the porch swing. Apparently, she was just in time.

"Mommy! Look at me! Daddy's going to teach me how to ride my bike!"

Alison waved at Katrina. "Alright, sweetie!"

"Okay, helmet on?" Rafe asked.

"Check!"

"Knee guards?"

"Check!"

"Elbow guards?"

"Check!"

"Shoes tied?"

Katrina looked down at her feet. "Check! Check!"

"Alright! I think we're ready!"

Katrina hopped on, holding on tight to the handles. She looked up at her father. "Don't let go, Daddy!"

"I won't."

"Promise you won't, Daddy!"

"I promise. Now let's go."

Rafe started walking the bike, letting Katrina do all the pedaling as she got used to what it felt like to be on a bike.

Alison smiled as she watched them together, putting away the rest of the ice cream.

After a while, Rafe was getting tired. This running up and down the street holding a bike up got to be tiring after a while. But he didn't let on and continued to push Katrina forward. As long as she was having fun, it was all that mattered.

Then finally, the moment came.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Let go."

"You made me promise not to."

"I changed my mind!"

"Are you sure?"

"Let go, Daddy!" she begged.

"Only if you're really sure you want me to."

"Let go, Daddy! I want to ride by myself!"

"How about I let go on the count of three? You ready?"

"Yeah."

"One…two…three!"

On three, Rafe let go. He clenched his teeth together, hoping she wouldn't fall.

Katrina started to ride all by herself, down the street, pedaling fast, around the cul-de-sac, and back again.

Katrina slowed down, bringing the bike back to a stop in front of the driveway. "I did it, Daddy! I did it! I did it all by myself!"

"You sure did!" Rafe scooped Katrina up in his arms, giving her cheek a kiss. "I'm so proud of you, Princess!"

"Mommy! Did you see me?"

Alison walked over to where they were. "Sweetie, you did such a good job! I'm so proud of you!"

"Well I think this calls for a celebration," Rafe announced. "How about ice cream?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright. I think we have some in the kitchen."

"Um, I just ate the last of it," Alison admitted guiltily.

Rafe laughed. He should have known it was impossible to keep the house stocked with ice cream with Alison around. "Well I guess we'll just have go out then."

"I'm going to ride my bike back to the garage!" Katrina said, picking the bike up off the ground and hopping on.

Rafe and Alison watched as she rode it all by herself up the driveway. Rafe put his arm around Alison, shaking his head. "She's growing up, Alison."

Alison laughed. "Rafe, she's only five."

"Yeah, but today, she learns how to ride a bike. Tomorrow, it's going to be a car."

Alison laughed again. "Oh, Rafe. I love you."

"I love you too." Rafe brought her close and gave her lips a kiss.

"Come on, you guys! I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" Katrina called out from the car.

"Let's go get some ice cream," Alison said.

"You really want more? After you just ate all of it?"

"I'm pregnant. I can never eat enough ice cream," she said with a laugh.


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: I hate to keep your girls waiting, so here you go. Another chapter :) Katrina is super cute. (Like she could be anything else lol)

Until 36...!

**Chapter 35**

On Thursday afternoon, something very special arrived in the mail.

Well, special for Katrina at least. It had her name on it!

"What is it? What it is?" Katrina jumped up and down excitedly, not even giving her mother a chance to see what else was in the mailbox.

"It's a letter from school."

"Read it, read it!" she begged.

"It says,

_Dear Katrina & Parents:_

_Port Charles Elementary will be having its Kindergarten Orientation on Tuesday evening, August 19 from 6:00-7:30. Please make arrangements for you and your child to attend. You will get to meet your child's teacher and learn more about our school! See you then!_

_Mr. Gerald King_

_Principal_

Alison smiled, handing the postcard to Katrina.

"Ooo! Can we go, Mommy?"

"Of course."

"I can't wait to go to the big school!"

Just then, they heard a familiar sound as Rafe drove into the driveway.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

"Hey, Princess." Rafe had barely stopped the car before Katrina opened the door for him. "How's my little angel?"

"Daddy, look! I got a letter from the big school!"

"Oh yeah?"

Katrina handed it over. "It's for Kindergarten! You can read it."

"Kindergarten Orientation. Well we definitely can't miss that."

"Nope! Can't miss that!"

"Welcome home," Alison said, walking over to give Rafe a kiss.

"Hey, Angel."

"Hey, Mommy?" Katrina said, tugging on her mother's shirt and interrupting her parents' kiss.

"What, baby?"

"What am I going to wear?"

"Oh. I don't know. I guess we'll have to take you shopping for new clothes!"

"YAY! Get your plastic, Mommy and let's go charge it!"

Alison laughed. "Come on, baby. Let's go inside."

"It's happening already," Rafe muttered under his breath as Katrina followed her mother back into the house. It was apparent that even at Katrina's early age, she was just like her mother when it came to shopping.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Thanks so much for helping us, Lucy," Alison said as she and Lucy, followed by Katrina, carried several bags into the house after their shopping spree at the mall.

"Oh, no need to thank me. I had a blast."

"Me too!" Katrina cheered.

"I know you did, peanut! You're going to be one of the best dressed kids in the entire school."

Katrina laughed. "Yeah, I know."

"Hey, I thought I heard voices," Rafe said as he walked down the stairs.

"Daddy! Daddy! Come look at all my clothes!"

Rafe laughed. "Okay."

Katrina immediately began to dig into the bags, pulling out her new clothes.

"Did you find some good deals?"

Alison nodded. "Yeah, we did."

"Everything in the children's department at Wyndham's was 30 percent off," Lucy added.

"Look, Daddy!"

"Whatcha got, princess?"

"I got some new jeans, some more pants. I got some new shirts. All different colors!" Katrina dug into another bag. "And I got some socks. They got bows on them. See? And I got…_underwear_?" Katrina looked up at her mother, wondering how in the world that got there. "Mommy, why'd you get me _panties_?"

Alison laughed. "Because you need them, silly goose, that's why!"

Katrina shrugged her shoulders, then tossed the bag of panties aside. "And I got shoes too! Look at my shoes, Daddy!" Katrina opened a box, revealing brand new sneakers, white with pink laces and trim.

"Those look just like your old ones."

"Yeah, but they're whiter, and a different size. Mommy says my feet got bigger!"

"Wow! Well that's fantastic, princess. Is that all?"

"No. There's one more thing…" Katrina dug into the last bag and pulled out a pink, purple, and black plaid dress. She held it up against herself. "See it, Daddy! It's got a little bow on it and the little flowers on the bottom. And you're supposed to wear a white shirt underneath it. I'm going to be so pretty!"

"You sure will. And it's a beautiful dress, Princess."

"Mommy said I could wear it on the first day of school, but I have to be _very_ _careful_ not to get it dirty. And then I can't wear it again until picture day. But after that, I can wear it all the time and get it as messy as I want!"

"I didn't say you could get it messy, Katrina," Alison said with a laugh. "I just said if you _did_ get it messy it wouldn't be a big deal."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina held both her parents' hands as they walked down the hallway. This was so exciting, Katrina thought. Now she was finally old enough to go to the big school, just like Danny and Christina.

Alison looked at the postcard the secretary had handed her in the office. "Let's see, there's Room 7, and your class is in Room 10, so it should be a few doors down.

"Ooo! Water fountain!" Katrina yelled in excitement, running to it to get a quick drink.

"I still think we should have considered an all-girl school," Rafe said softly.

"Oh, Rafe. Relax. I'm sure everything is going to be fine. Besides, she's happy. Isn't that what's important?"

Rafe watched as Katrina left the fountain and skipped down the hall. She stopped and turned to her parents, waving for them. "Come on!"

Rafe turned to Alison and gave her a smile. "Yeah. You're right."

"I'm always right," Alison said with a laugh.

Katrina's classroom was the last room at the end of the hallway. Before they had even reached the door, they could hear music playing. Katrina walked into the room, singing along to _Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes _as her parents followed behind.

The teacher was talking to other parents, so they had to wait.

"She looks nice," Alison said.

Rafe nodded. He had been uneasy about this whole school thing, but this didn't look so bad. He looked around the room, seeing all of the decorations and colors, and lots of posters with letters and numbers on them. It actually looked rather nice. He looked down, noticing nametags stuck to the tables. "Why don't you go find your name, Princess?"

Katrina walked to each table, looking for her name. She found it pretty quickly. "I'm the only K name at the table!" she said excitedly.

"You sit at table number 1," Rafe said, noticing the big one taped in the center.

"That means I'm the best, right Daddy?"

Rafe laughed. "Of course."

"Hello," said a friendly voice. "You must be the Koviches, right?"

Alison smiled, holding out her hand. "Yes, we are. It's nice to meet you. I'm Alison. And this is my husband, Rafe."

"Hello," he said, shaking the teacher's hand as well.

"And this is our daughter, Katrina."

Katrina looked up at the pretty lady and smiled. Danny had warned her all summer, saying she was going to get Mrs. Kirby, the _mean_ kindergarten teacher. Everyone hated Mrs. Kirby. She yelled all day and made you go to the principal's office if you were bad too many times. And sometimes if even just one kid was bad, she'd make the whole class stay inside for recess and do work while all the other classes got to play. Danny even swore he saw her eat a frog one time.

But Danny was wrong! This couldn't be Mrs. Kirby, because she didn't look mean at all! In fact, she looked very nice. Her teeth were really white and her light brown hair was pulled back with a barrette. Katrina smiled, because that was how she was wearing her hair today too!

"Well it's nice to meet you, Katrina. My name is Miss Darlington, and I'll be your teacher."

Katrina smiled big. "You have a pretty name."

"Why thank you! I think your name is pretty too!"

"Can I call you Miss Darlin'?"

Miss Darlington laughed out loud, then knelt down to her level. "I tell you what. If you like, you can call me Miss D."

"Okay! Hey, Miss D? You know what?"

"What?"

"My mommy's going to have a baby!"

Miss Darlington laughed. That was quite obvious, but she played along as if she didn't notice. "Well that's wonderful news! Congratulations!"

"It's a boy. I'm going to have a baby brother. His name is Gabe."

"I'm sure you must be excited."

"Yeah! We're going to have a big party when he's born, and Mommy bakes cakes and cookies so we'll have lots to eat!"

Miss Darlington studied Alison again, smiling as she finally recognized her. "So _that's_ where I've seen you. I thought you looked familiar. You run that little bakery by the river, don't you?"

"Guilty."

"Your muffins are my _favorite_!"

Alison blushed. "I'm glad you enjoy them."

"Mommy can make cupcakes for the class! They're really yummy!"

"Well only if your mother has the time. I'm sure she'll be very busy with a baby around the house," Miss Darlington said with a wink.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey!" Serena yelled, blowing on her whistle. "I told you two already! Stay out of the deep end or you're getting out!"

"But I got water wings!" Katrina protested.

"I don't care. If you have to wear water wings, you have to stay on the other side. That goes for you too, Christina!"

"But I'm not wearing water wings! I can swim!"

"Get on the other side or I'll call Mom to come take you home!"

Christina rolled her eyes. "Jeez, what a grouch," she muttered under her breath as she made her way over to the rope.

It was the last weekend before school started, and Christina and Katrina were making good use of the pool at the youth center while the weather was still warm, but it wasn't helping that Serena was enjoying the role of lifeguard a little too much.

Katrina held on to the edge of the pool, kicking her legs as Christina sat on the rope. "Why's your sister so crabby?"

"She's just mad 'cause Neil went home. She's been like this all day!"

"Oh."

"I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Christina swam over to the ladder and climbed out of the pool.

Katrina, now by herself, walked along the edge of the pool until she reached the steps. She reached for her towel laying on the sidewalk and stepped out of the pool, wrapping it around her.

"Aren't you gonna swim with us?" she asked, sitting in the chair beside Serena.

"No. Not right now."

"Do you miss Neil?"

"Yes."

"Do you miss _kissing_ Neil?"

Serena laughed. "Yeah, I guess."

"I kissed Danny one time, but he didn't like it so much."

Serena gave her a surprised look. "Aren't you a little too young to be kissing boys?"

"Well I just kissed him on his cheek. Not his mouth! That would be gross! And Danny has bad breath anyway!"

Serena laughed.

"My mommy and daddy kiss _all_ _the time _on the lips," Katrina said, rolling her eyes.

"That's because they're in love. People who are in love like your parents kiss all the time."

"Well I'm never kissing a boy on the mouth, even if I am married. Kissing boys on the mouth is gross. Cause they might have morning breath."

Serena laughed again. "I think you might change your mind about that in a few years."

xxxxxxxxxx

Katrina was almost too excited to sleep, knowing that tomorrow would be her very first day of school. But finally, she drifted off, and by morning, she was raring to go.

Alison kissed Katrina goodbye at the door, then waved as she followed her father to the car. Rafe would take her the first day. Alison told him to let her take the bus, but Rafe insisted on bringing her. She figured she would give him this. He was having a harder time accepting the fact that their little girl was growing up before their eyes.

Rafe held her hand as they walked up the sidewalk to the school. It made him think of the days he would take her to daycare, and Katrina would hold his hand so tight because she didn't want to go sometimes. But now, she was slipping away, eager to go, wiggling out of his grasp.

She gave him a quick kiss goodbye, then ran to put her bookbag in her cubby. Miss Darlington was waiting at the door, giving Rafe a smile.

"Take good care of her," he said.

"Don't worry. She'll be just fine."

"Bye, Daddy!" Katrina waved, running straight to her seat to play with the table toys.

Rafe lingered by the door for a few moments, watching her. Of course, he was happy for her. His little girl was reaching an important milestone in her life. But he couldn't help but feel his heart break just a tiny bit.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Early Friday morning, it happened.

Alison opened her eyes, and at once, knew something was off. She had been dreaming that she was having contractions. Was she really? It was then that she felt it. Yep. That was definitely a contraction. Alison looked over at Rafe and gave him a shake.

Rafe had been in a deep sleep when the sound of Alison's voice slowly pulled him away.

"Rafe."

Rafe turned his head, but he was still asleep.

"_Rafe_," Alison repeated, a little louder and shaking him harder.

"Hmm? What?" Rafe opened his eyes, looking over at Alison. "Okay, I'll go heat up those leftovers," he said, then closing his eyes again. He was obviously still half-asleep.

"**Rafe!"**

Rafe's eyes snapped opened, surprised at the tone of Alison's voice. "What's the matter?"

"It's time."

"What time is it?"

"It's time to have the baby."

Rafe sat up, wide-awake now and panicked. "What? Are you sure? Are you sure it's time?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Immediately, Rafe went into panic mode, hopping out of bed and running from one end of the room to another as he grabbed some clothes. "Let me get dressed! No, first we have to call the doctor!" He ran to the phone.

"You have to call Lucy too," Alison said calmly.

"Oh no, your bag! We didn't pack a bag, did we?"

"My bag is packed and in the car. We already did that. Remember? Call the hospital."

"Right! The hospital!"

"I'm going to go get dressed," Alison said, getting out of bed slowly. She couldn't help but laugh as she heard the panic in Rafe's voice as he begged for someone to pick up the phone. She seemed to be taking this better than her husband, and she was the one having the contractions.

When Alison came out of the bathroom, Rafe literally rushed her downstairs. "Go ahead and get in the car. Can you make it okay?"

"Rafe, we can't leave right now."

"No, we need to go. Dr. Meadows said as soon as your contractions started, we needed to get a move on."

"Rafe. _Katrina._"

It took him a moment, but then he remembered. "I forgot to call Lucy!"

"Call Lucy. Don't worry, we have time. I'll just sit down for a while." Alison took a seat on the couch. There was really only one time when Rafe would run around forgetting things. This was it.

It only took ten minutes for Lucy to get there. She had been prepared that this sort of thing would happen, so all she had to do was throw on some clothes and drive right over.

"Don't worry about Katrina. I'll explain everything to her. Call me with an update!" Lucy said as they headed out the door. "Good luck!"

"Lucy, one more thing," Alison said. "If Katrina's not up by seven o'clock, please wake her up because she'll be late otherwise."

"Alison, she's got it. Let's go," Rafe urged.

"There's some cereal in the pantry if you don't have enough time to cook something for breakfast. And it's best to leave the house by 7:45 to get her to school on time otherwise the traffic will be really bad. She knows which room her class is in."

"Alison, we've got to go."

"Thanks, Lucy!"

"You're welcome! Don't worry about a thing. You just concentrate on this little one."

"Bye!"

Rafe rushed her to the car, opening the door for her as she slowly got inside.

"Rafe, I'm going to tell you one thing before we leave this driveway."

"What's that?" he asked, turning the key into the ignition.

"Don't you dare drive like you did last time."

"Drive like what?" Rafe put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway.

"Like a madman!" Alison said. "You _will_ drive a reasonable speed. Do you hear me?"

Rafe eased up on the gas, knowing when Alison used that tone of voice, she meant business. "Yes, dear."

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Katrina headed downstairs to the kitchen where the delicious smells were coming from. She was expecting to see her mother, but was surprised when she saw Lucy instead.

"Lucy?"

Lucy turned around, giving her a big smile. "Hey there, Peanut!"

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" she asked in a low, scared voice. She tightened her grip on Bernie.

"Come sit down and I'll tell you." Lucy took a seat at the table and Katrina joined her. "Last night, your daddy had to take your mommy to the hospital."

"How come?"

Lucy grinned. "Because. It's time for your baby brother to be born!"

"Really?" Katrina's eyes lit up.

"Yes, really!"

"Can we go see him, Lucy? Please, please, please!"

"Oh he's not here yet, Peanut, but he will be soon."

"Yay! I'm so glad!"

Lucy laughed. "I knew you would be. Now, why don't you go upstairs and get dressed, and then when you come back down, we'll have breakfast."

"And then we can go to the hospital?"

"No. You have school."

"No, Lucy! I don't wanna go to school! I wanna go see Gabe!"

"But he's not here yet, Peanut."

"But you said he'd be here soon. Let's go to the hospital and wait for him! And Mommy said I didn't have to go to school when Gabe was born!"

Lucy raised an eyebrow. She knew Katrina well enough to know when she was lying to get her way. "Nice try, kiddo."

Katrina frowned. Well, it was worth a shot, she decided.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ahh, ahh, ahh," Alison moaned, feeling another contraction.

"Shh, just breathe though it," Rafe soothed.

"I _am_ breathing! What the hell do you think I'm doing?" she snapped.

Ouch. Rafe was starting to remember what Alison was like when she was in labor. It wasn't particularly his favorite side of her.

"How's our patient?" Dr. Meadows asked, walking into the room to check on Alison again.

"Oh, Dr. Meadows! Thank god you're here!"

"You all right, Alison?"

"No! I need drugs! I need them NOW! Just knock me out! Do something!"

"Yes, it does appear your contractions are getting stronger. I'll go ahead and get the anesthesiologist up here."

"Thank you!"

"I'll check on you soon."

Alison turned to Rafe, glaring at him with angry eyes. "Just so you know, we are NOT doing this again. You've got your girl, and you've got your boy, and after this, that's _it_! No more babies!"

"Knock, knock," Amanda said, walking into the bedroom. "Hello dear."

"Hi, Nana."

Rafe took the opportunity of Amanda being here to make his escape. He needed to breathe for a few minutes. "I'm going to check out the vending machine down the hall, let you and your grandmother talk. Would you like me to bring you back anything?"

"Go get me some ice chips!" she demanded.

"Okay. I'll be right back. Amanda." He nodded to her.

"Hello, Rafe."

Once Rafe left the room, Amanda gave Alison a big smile. "How are you feeling, darling?"

"Do you really have to ask? I want this baby out of me!"

"Well, not much longer now. Until then, I brought some things that I'm sure will lift your spirits." Amanda held up some shopping bags she had carried in, all from Wyndham's.

Alison temporarily forgot her pain as she wondered what kinds of goodies were inside. "What's in the bags, Nana?"

"Oh, just some things for the baby that I picked up." Amanda reached into one bag, pulling out an adorable baby blue onesie.

"Aww, it's so cute!" Alison took the tiny onesie, imagining her baby wearing it.

"I knew you would love it."

"It's perfect. Thank you, Nana."

"I brought some more things too. Stuffed animals, a blanket…"

"Oh…oh god…"

"Darling, are you alright?"

"Yeah, just fine," she squeaked out, trying to breathe though another painful contraction. "I'm so ready for this baby to BORN!"

"Well, I'll just put these bags aside so you and Rafe can look through them later.

"Thank you, Nana. That was really sweet of you."

"Did someone order an anesthesiologist?" Dr. Kessler said with a smile, walking into the room.

Alison rolled her eyes. What were the odds that she would get the same annoying doctor that she had the last time around? "You again. About time you showed up."

Dr. Kessler was about to say something when he noticed an old friend. "Amanda!"

"Mark! Hello! How are you doing?"

"I'm doing wonderful. Yourself?"

"Fine, fine. How's Marlene and the kids?"

"They're all doing well. Jodie just started her first year at Columbia. Brent's going out for the football team this year. And our little Sarah's in second grade now. And wouldn't you know it…Mrs. Applewhite is still teaching there. She was Brent and Jodie's teacher when…"

"Um…HELLO!" Alison yelled, getting their attention. "Pregnant lady here! Having a baby and in need of some DRUGS!"

Dr. Kessler turned his attention back to Alison. "Oh that's right. I have a job to do," he said with a wink.

Alison did not find him amusing. "Will you just do it already?"

The doctor laughed. "Lay on your side for me, Alison."

"When I gave birth, I never used any drugs," Amanda said more to Dr. Kessler than to Alison as she walked over to her granddaughter's side. "Didn't need them. It was all natural."

"Well you're considered one of the lucky few," Dr. Kessler said with a laugh.

Alison tried to ignore their chit-chat. Who cared if her grandmother didn't need the drugs? She _did_ and that's what mattered! Now if the doctor could just get on with it and stop his blathering, things would be a whole lot better.

"Alright, Alison, you know the drill. Breathe slowly, and don't move."

"Wait! I want Rafe!" she suddenly decided. She had tried not to look at the needle but she accidentally saw it anyway. If she could just have Rafe hold her hand, everything would be okay.

"Alison, I'd love to wait for your husband, but I've got three other women down the hallway screaming for me as well. We need to go ahead."

"No! I want Rafe!" she begged.

"Darling, it's alright. I'll be with you," Amanda said.

"I WANT RAFE!" she demanded.

Fortunately at that very moment, Rafe walked into the room. Alison smiled the biggest smile. "Rafe! Thank god you're here!"

"What's the matter?" Rafe rushed to her side.

"Just hold my hand. Please. Just don't go."

"I'm right here, angel," he said, taking her hand into his. Rafe couldn't understand it. One minute, she was yelling at him, the next, she was clinging to him for dear life.

But one thing he did know. No matter what her mood, he loved her anyway.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hello?" Livvie poked her head into the room. "Can I come visit?"

"Livvie! Come in!"

"I just thought I'd drop by to see how you were doing. I got your message. How are feeling?"

"Much better since they gave me the epidural an hour ago."

"Oh good. Epidural's the best!"

Alison nodded in agreement. "Ohhh yeah."

"So where's Rafe? Did you scare him off?"

"Oh, he's around. I think he's making a call to Lucy. He promised to give her an update every hour."

"Not much longer now, huh?"

"Nope. So, what did you bring me?"

Livvie held up her bag of goodies. "Stuff from the gift shop! I thought your room might need a little decoration, something to welcome the baby into the world." Livvie pulled out a little blue bear holding a balloon that read "It's a Boy".

"Aww, that's so cute."

"I thought so." Livvie placed the bear on the nightstand. "And I bought you these." Livvie held up little tiny baby hats.

"Oh look at them! How precious." Alison took the hats and felt how soft they were.

"I figured the little guy will need something to keep his head warm considering how cold Port Charles gets in the winter."

"Oh, we'll definitely use these. Thank you, Livvie."

"You're welcome."

Suddenly, Livvie heard her cell phone go off. "Hold on just a moment." She dug into her purse to answer it. "Damn it, Jack. What do you want?" she snapped. "It's like the fifth time you've called me!"

Alison looked up in surprise at Livvie's tone. She could hear Jack talking on the other end, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Yes I'm busy! I'm at the hospital providing moral support for Alison. She's having a baby, you know!" Livvie looked at Alison and rolled her eyes. "What do you need a battery for?…Why can't you go out and get your own battery for your stupid camera?"

Alison stifled a laugh. It had been a while since she'd seen "Pregnant Livvie". She was finally emerging. Poor Jack.

"Fine! I'll go get your damn battery! But you owe me!….I don't care. Dinner. A massage. _Something_…Bye." Livvie smashed the end button on her mobile. It was the equivalent to slamming a phone down on the receiver. "That man!" she huffed. "Such a baby! I swear, Alison."

Alison couldn't help it. She had to laugh.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Livvie. It's just that, if there was any doubt you weren't pregnant before, well it's certainly clear now."

"I have a right to be cranky. I can be cranky if I want to."

Alison laughed again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hours had passed, and before long, Dr. Meadows said it was finally time.

The first time she had gone though this, Alison had been scared. But now, she was excited. She knew that it wouldn't be much longer until she would finally get to see her son. For so long, she had felt him growing and kicking inside of her. No one was more anxious to see him than her.

Rafe held her hand, letting her squeeze it as hard as she wanted without complaining through each contraction.

"Just one more push, Angel," he encouraged her.

Suddenly, the sounds of a crying baby filled the room, and Dr. Meadows held up a healthy looking baby boy. "Ten fingers and ten toes, he's all here!" she announced.

A nurse stepped in and wrapped the baby up in a blue blanket. The instant he was handed to his father, his crying calmed down.

"Alison, he's amazing," Rafe said, walking over to Alison and placing the baby into her arms.

Alison smiled as she held the baby close to her. "Hi, Gabe."

"Welcome to the world, son."

"Oh, Rafe, look at him. Look at the little chin. And that nose. He looks just like you. Just like his father."

"Yeah, but look at those eyes. They're blue."

"I bet they'll change color though. They're going to turn into this beautiful hazel-green color. I just know."

Rafe placed his arm around Alison and gave her forehead a gentle kiss. "You did great," he whispered.

"No, _we_ did great," Alison said, turning her head to kiss him.

"So, um, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" Alison mumbled, mesmerized by their son.

"You're still not serious about not having any more kids, are you?"


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: Sorry to make you all wait for this chapter. I was going to post it sooner but it's been a busy week for me. Well, here it is...one of my FAVORITE CHAPTERS :)

Until 38!

**Chapter 37**

All day long, all Katrina could think about was Gabe. It wasn't fair. All of the grownups got to be at the hospital with the baby, but because she was just a kid, she had to be stuck at school!

And then at the end of the day, right in the middle of story time, Katrina happened to look up and see a familiar face standing in the doorway.

"Daddy!" Katrina shouted, getting up off the floor and running to her father.

The assistant teacher stopped reading the story, and all of the children turned their eyes to their classroom visitor. Normally, you'd get in trouble for interrupting the story, but this was an exception, because Daddy was here to pick her up!

"Hey, Daddy!" Katrina hugged her father tightly. She hadn't seen him all day and she missed him.

"Hey, Princess."

The teacher waved at him, then returned to the story. A few nosy children kept looking behind them, wondering why Katrina got to go home early.

"Can we go see Gabe now?" Katrina begged.

Rafe laughed, knowing that would be the first thing she would ask. "Yes, we're going now."

"Mr. Kovich, hello," Miss Darlington said, walking over to him.

"Hello. I'll be signing Katrina out early today."

"Did your wife have the baby?"

Rafe smiled. "She did. Seven pounds, eight ounces," he said proudly.

"Oh that's wonderful! It's all Katrina talked about today."

"It's all she talks about at home too," he said with a laugh.

"Daddy, can we go now?" By this time, Katrina had grabbed her bookbag and lunchbox out of her cubby and was almost out the door.

"In a minute, Princess. Does she have any homework over the weekend?"

"No homework, just keep reading with her at night."

"Oh we do."

"Daddy, come on!" Katrina begged, tugging on his jeans.

"Well, we better go."

"Well congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you. We'll see you later."

"See you Monday, Katrina. Bye."

"Bye!" Katrina said, taking her father's hand and practically dragging him out of the door.

Miss Darlington laughed. Katrina was always one to give you a hug when she said goodbye, but today, she was just too excited.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina held her father's hand as he walked her down the hallway. Daddy said to be very quiet, because there were a lot of sleeping babies on this floor.

There were so many rooms down this hallway, and Katrina wondered which one Mommy and Gabe were in. Finally, they stopped at the very last room, and Rafe slowly opened the door.

"Remember, quiet voices," Rafe said.

Katrina saw her mother sitting up in the bed with a big smile on her face. In her arms, she held the baby, wrapped up in a blue blanket.

"Hi, sweetie. Come see your little brother."

Katrina made her way over to the bed and looked down at the sleeping baby.

A little giggle escaped her mouth. "He's tiny! Like a doll baby."

Alison laughed with her. "I know, he sure is."

"Hi, Gabe," she whispered.

"Come sit up here with me so you can see him better."

Katrina gently climbed up in the bed to sit beside her mother. She reached out and brushed his cheek with her finger, and laughed as he moved his head toward her hand.

"Look at his tiny hand, Katrina," Alison said, picking up the baby's hand and showing it's size in relation to her own.

"Gabe's real tiny. Can I give him a kiss?"

"Of course."

Katrina leaned down, giving her brother a soft kiss on his tiny forehead.

"This calls for a picture," Rafe announced, taking a camera out of the bag on the dresser and aiming it towards them.

Alison put one arm around Katrina and held her close as she smiled at the camera.

"Okay, say cheese," Rafe said.

"Cheese!" Katrina whispered excitedly.

Rafe snapped the picture.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours had passed, and Katrina had fallen asleep beside her mother. It was as if watching Gabe sleep made her sleepy too.

"Princess?"

Katrina made a little mumble.

"Princess, wake up."

Katrina slowly opened her eyes. "Daddy?"

"It's time to go. Wake up and say goodbye to Mommy and Gabe."

_Goodbye_? Katrina didn't want to say goodbye! They just got here! "No, Daddy, let's stay here."

"Visiting hours are just about over, Princess. We got to go home and get some dinner."

Katrina looked up at her mother. "Mommy, can't you and Gabe come home?"

Alison shook her head. "No, sweetie, we have to stay at the hospital for a little longer."

"Why? Are you sick?"

"No, baby, we're not sick. They're just taking care of us here."

"We can take care of you at home."

Alison smiled. "Well I tell you what. I'll see if the doctor will let us go home tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," she said, disappointed. She wished Mommy and Gabe could come home now.

"Are you _sure_ you're going to be all right?" Rafe asked. He hated the thought of leaving her here for the night. It just didn't feel right.

"Rafe, I'm going to be fine. I've got plenty of doctors and nurses to look out for me and we're going to be just fine. I think we all just need a little sleep. You two go home and rest. Once this baby comes home, none of us are going to get any sleep anymore," she said with a laugh.

"Katrina's right, you know. We can take care of you at home."

Alison laughed. "I know. But good luck at convincing Dr. Meadows of that."

"Okay, I guess we should go. I am getting hungry." Rafe leaned down to give Alison a kiss. "You call me if you need anything."

"I will."

"Bye, Mommy," Katrina said, giving her mother a kiss on her cheek.

"Bye, sweetie. I love you."

"Bye, Gabe. I love you." Katrina gave him a kiss too. He was still sleeping.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Daddy, when will Gabe and Mommy get to come home?" Katrina asked as she picked up a slice of pizza and took a big bite.

Rafe carried his plate over to the kitchen counter and sat down in the barstool next to her. "My guess would be Sunday."

"Can we go see them tomorrow?" Katrina begged.

"Of course. I tell you what. Your mother hates hospital food. How about we go pick up breakfast in the morning and bring it to her?"

"Yeah!" Katrina liked that idea. "Hey, Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Can we have a party too? For when Gabe comes home?"

"I think that's a great idea."

"Me too! And can we have cake and balloons and party hats?"

"How about we finish eating this pizza first? Then we'll plan the party."

Katrina smiled. "Okay!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katrina tossed and turned in bed. No matter what she did, she couldn't fall asleep. Finally, she got out of bed and walked down the hallway to her parents' room.

"Daddy?"

"What's wrong, Princess?"

"I can't sleep."

"Me neither."

Katrina climbed up into bed beside her father. "I miss Mommy and Gabe. I want them to be home already."

Rafe completely understood. He wished Alison and Gabe were home as well. "I know, Princess. Me too."

"Why do they got to be at the hospital, Daddy? They're not sick. The hospital is for people that are sick and hurt."

"Well, sometimes when babies are born, they can get sick, and sometimes the mom gets sick too. So the hospital has a rule that says moms and babies have to stay close to the doctors and nurses, just in case they need them."

"Mommy's not going to get sick, is she?"

"No, I don't think so Princess. I think she and your brother will be just fine."

Katrina rested her head on her mother's pillow. The pillow smelled like Mommy's hair. She loved the way Mommy's hair smelled. Kind of like flowers.

Rafe, wide awake, watched his daughter in the moonlight. He could tell she was just as wide awake as he was. That was it, he decided.

Rafe sat up, giving Katrina a smile. "Go get your shoes on, Princess."

"Are we going to go see Mommy and Gabe?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, because I have a feeling they miss us just as much as we miss them."

"YAY!" Katrina ran out of the room and down the hallway to her room.

Rafe got out of bed and laughed. He wondered why he didn't think of doing this sooner.

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In all of her years as being a nurse, Colleen had just about seen it all. And now, she was about to see everything. She looked up as the elevator doors opened and out stepped a father and daughter, in sweats and pajamas.

Colleen hated to do this, but she knew she didn't have a choice. She quietly walked over to them.

"Rafe, what do you think you're doing?"

Rafe turned around. "Oh, hey, Colleen. How are you?"

"Don't 'Oh hey, Colleen' me. Visiting hours are long over."

"But aren't you a little more flexible on the maternity floor? I mean, babies come into the world at all times of the day, not just during visiting hours. And they let me stay overnight last time."

"Look, if _you_ want to stay overnight, that's fine. The fathers are welcome to stay. But I'm afraid the hospital has a strict policy about children."

"Oh, but she won't be any trouble, Colleen. She just wants to see her mother and her new baby brother. We both do."

"Rafe, I understand, but hospital policy says…"

"She's not sick if that's what you're worried about. And she'll be very quiet. Won't you, Katrina?"

"I can be quiet as a mouse," Katrina whispered.

"Please, Colleen. Let us stay. Please," Rafe begged.

Colleen hesitated. She hated being put into situations like this. "I could get into trouble for this."

"I don't want you to get in trouble, Colleen. But can't you just like, pretend you never saw us?"

Colleen sighed.

Katrina tugged on Colleen's nurse scrubs. "Please, Colleen. I want to see Mommy and Gabe."

Colleen gave in. How could she say no to that face? "There's an extra cot in Alison's room. But don't let me see you out in the hallways."

Rafe grinned widely. "Thanks, Colleen!"

Colleen gave him a smile, then walked back to the nurses station.

"Come on, Princess, let's go see Mommy."

Rafe held Katrina's hand as they walked down the hallway. He opened the door slowly, not wanting to wake up Alison in case she was sleeping. But just as he suspected, she wasn't.

"Rafe, is that you?"

"Yeah."

"And me too, Mommy!" Katrina whispered.

Alison laughed as Rafe and Katrina walked over to her bed. "What are you two doing here?"

"We couldn't sleep," Rafe said.

"And we missed you and Gabe." Katrina climbed up into bed with her mother.

Alison wrapped her arms around Katrina and kissed her cheek. "Well I missed you too."

Rafe leaned forward and kissed Alison. "How are you?"

"Good."

"And the baby?"

"He's sleeping." Alison nodded over to the baby bed next to hers. "You want to sleep too, baby doll?" she asked, looking down at Katrina, whose eyes were half closed.

Katrina mumbled and nuzzled closer to her mother.

Rafe moved to get a closer look at the baby. "Has he been sleeping for long?"

"Probably for about twenty minutes. Move that cot over here." Alison pointed to the extra cot against the wall.

Rafe moved it next to Alison's bed, making one large bed for the three of them.

"I'm so glad you came," Alison whispered. "I couldn't sleep at all."

"Neither could we," Rafe said with a laugh, kissing her one more time before they finally all drifted off to sleep.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

Alison slowly opened her eyes, realizing it was morning. Usually the first thing she would want to do once she woke up was to go back to sleep, but today, she couldn't wait to get up. She couldn't wait to see her baby.

Something felt off for a second, and she quickly realized that Rafe and Katrina weren't there. Alison started to wonder if she had dreamt the whole thing but then saw the note Rafe had left on the table.

_Angel, _

_Left to get something to eat. We'll bring you back something._

_Love,_

_Rafe and Katrina_

Alison smiled. She loved that Rafe remembered how much she hated hospital food.

Just then, she heard some baby sounds. Gabe was awake. Alison slowly moved her feet to the side of the bed, and once she got her bearings, she stood up.

"Hey, baby boy," she said softly, reaching into the bed to pick him up. She smiled as he looked up at her. One of the nurses had put a tiny blue hat on his head. He was absolutely adorable. "You look just like your daddy. You know that?"

Gabe moved his arms about, the sound of his mother's voice soothing to him.

"I bet your hungry." Alison carefully carried him over to the bed.

"Knock, knock," said a nurse as she walked into the room with a smile on her face. "Good morning."

"Good morning."

"How is everyone?"

"We're good."

"I'll be your nurse this morning. My name is Summer. If you need anything just let me know. I'm just checking in to see how you two were doing."

"We're doing great."

The nurse walked over to get a closer look at the baby. "Aww, what an adorable little baby."

"Thank you."

"What's his name?"

"Gabriel. But we call him Gabe."

"Oh, what a beautiful name. Gabriel, after the archangel. My family's very religious," she said with a grin.

"Actually, his grandfather was named Gabriel too. We named our daughter after my husband's mother so we thought it only appropriate to name this little guy after my husband's father."

"You have two kids? How old is the other one?"

"She's five."

"Wow, you look good for having _two_ kids!" she said with a laugh.

"Thanks."

"Well I guess you're an old pro at this. Have you fed him yet?"

"Not yet, but I was about to."

"Alright then, I'll leave you to it. If you need anything, anything at all, just give me a buzz."

"Thank you."

The nurse left with a smile, leaving Alison and the baby alone.

Alison looked down at Gabe, who looked right back up at her with his big beautiful eyes. "You see, Gabe? I'm not the only one who thinks you're a handsome little man," she said with a smile, touching his tiny little nose.

After feeding the baby, Alison looked over at the clock and realized the time. She wondered when Rafe and Katrina would be back.

Then just at that very moment, she heard Katrina's voice outside her door.

"Daddy, do you think Mommy's still sleeping?"

"Let's find out," Rafe answered, opening the door slowly.

"Good morning," Alison said with a smile.

"We brought you breakfast, Mommy!"

"Shh, princess. Don't wake up the baby."

"Oh, it's okay. He's awake right now."

Katrina skipped over to the bed. "I want to see him!"

"Breakfast is served. I brought your favorites."

"Thank you so much. I'm starved."

"Hi, Gabe! Goochie, goochie, goo!" Katrina touched his cheeks and pinched him very, very lightly.

"I've got blueberry muffins, banana nut, orange juice…" Rafe continued.

"Mmm! Give me the blueberry."

Rafe handed the muffin to Alison, smiling as she took a big bite out of it.

"Can I take Gabe to school for show and tell?"

"No, I don't think so, princess. He's really too little right now to be around too many people. But you could take a picture of him to school to show everybody."

"I want to hold Gabe. Can I?"

Alison smiled. "I don't see why not. Rafe, bring that chair over here."

Rafe moved the chair sitting in the corner of the room closer to the bed. "Sit right here, Princess."

"Now sweetie, Gabe's not as light as he looks. He's a lot heavier than a baby doll, okay?"

"Okay."

"Wait, let me get my camera!" Rafe dug his camera out of his bag on the table and positioned it to record. "Okay. Ready."

"Okay, sweetie," Alison said, moving closer to Katrina and preparing to hand the baby over. "The first thing you have to know about holding a baby is that you always support his head, and you always support his bottom. He can't hold his head up on his own so you have to keep your hand under it."

Katrina held her arms out as her mother gently placed the baby into them.

"Now let his head rest on that arm," Alison instructed. "And put your hand under him to hold him. There you go."

Katrina giggled, loving every minute of this. She had never held a real baby before.

"What do you think of your little brother, Princess?" Rafe asked her, recording it all.

"I love Gabe!"

"Do you like being a big sister?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you tell Daddy what you told me the other day. About all the things you're going to teach your baby brother?"

"Mommy said since I'm a big sister, I get to teach Gabe stuff."

"What are you going to teach him?" Rafe asked.

"Um, how to ride a pony."

Rafe and Alison both laughed.

"Well, maybe when he's older. What else, Princess?"

"Um, I'm going to show him how to play hide and seek. And how to lick all the cake batter off a beater."

Alison laughed. She was sure Katrina learned how to do that from her. "How obvious is it that she grew up in a bakery?"

"And I'm going to teach him letters and numbers and teach him some songs."

"Well that all sounds great, Princess. Gabe is lucky to have a big sister like you."

"He's my little brother because he's real, real little."

Alison and Rafe both laughed.

"But he's getting heavy now!"

Rafe set the camera down and stepped in to take the baby. Once the baby was out of her hands, Katrina climbed into bed with her mother and Rafe took the seat she vacated.

Katrina pointed to her mother's muffin. "I want a little bite, Mommy."

"Katrina, you just had breakfast," Rafe reminded her. "Remember?"

Katrina turned to her father. "Yeah, but holding babies makes you hungry!"

Alison broke off a piece of her muffin and handed it to Katrina, then giving her a quick kiss. She had never felt so happy in her life. How lucky was she? A loving husband and two beautiful children. She had to be the luckiest woman in the world.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"How are my patients doing today?" Dr. Meadows said happily as she walked into the room later that morning. Rafe had taken Katrina out for lunch, so it was just Alison and the baby.

"We're doing great. So can we go home today?"

"What? You don't want to stay? With all the fine dining and around the clock service, and you don't even have to change a diaper! You want to go home?"

"Yes, please, Dr. Meadows," Alison begged.

"I'm sorry, Alison. The hospital requires mothers to stay for at least 48 hours, and so do I. You can go home tomorrow morning and not a minute before."

"You're tough, Dr. Meadows."

"I'm just doing my job. It's my job to make sure when you and this baby go home, that you're both in good shape."

"So tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, and that's after you're examined by me. I'll see you later, Alison."

"Bye."

As Dr. Meadows stepped out, Jamal stepped in. "Hey, Spunky."

"Jamal! Hey!"

"Brought some room décor," he laughed, holding up the baby balloons.

"You can put them on that table over there with all the others."

Jamal placed the balloons down, then walked over to Alison and kissed her cheek. "How are you?"

"I'm great."

"Can I see him?"

"Of course! He's right over there. He's sleeping but you can pick him up, it's okay."

"Hey, little man," he whispered, gently picking the baby up. Jamal walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down in the chair. "You did good, Ali. He definitely looks like a healthy little boy."

"Thank you."

"So, you ready to get out of here?"

"Oh am I ever! I'm already getting stir crazy. But Dr. Meadows won't let me go home."

"You want me to sneak you out? I'll go find rummage up some hospital clothes out of a supply closet and I'll wheel you out of here," he joked.

"Thanks, but no, I think they would notice that you aren't a part of the staff."

"Nah, we could pull it off. If the nurse catches us, I'll just put on the charm, act like I'm new and just taking care of the patients. You know."

Alison laughed. "Sure."

"So where's Lil' Spunky at? I thought for sure I'd find her here."

"Oh, she was here, and she'll be back. Rafe just took her out for a bite to eat."

"I bet she's excited, huh?"

"Oh yeah, she's loving it. She's wanted to be a big sister for a long time."

"Hey, Ali? I don't know if I ever told you, but you're a really good mother. I'm very happy for you."

Alison smiled. "So what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Oh don't tell me the issue of children hasn't come up between you and Marissa."

"Oh sure, we love kids. It'll happen when it happens."

"Which will be…..when exactly?"

"When we decide on it," Jamal said with a laugh.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Sunday morning, Dr. Meadows finally said mother and baby could go home.

"I'll go load up the car," Rafe said, holding a handful of flowers and bags. "I'll be right back."

"Oh, take your time. I'm sure they'll take forever to bring my discharge papers."

"Hmm. I'll see if I can find the nurse, speed things up a bit."

"Thanks."

Katrina stepped out of the bathroom and went over to the bed where her mother held Gabe. "Where's Daddy?"

"He just went to the car. He'll be right back."

"Is it time to go? Can we leave now?"

"Just about. We've got to wait for the nurse first."

Alison shifted the baby in her arms, turning him around so he could see his sister.

Katrina smiled, taking hold of his hand. "Guess what, Gabe? You get to go home today! You're going to love your room. I made sure they made it blue just for you."

"How do you like that, baby boy?" Alison said, holding the baby closer to her.

Gabe's response to all of this attention: spitting up.

"Oh! Gabe! You spit up all over your brand new outfit!"

Katrina scrunched up her nose. "Yuck."

"Katrina, will you grab that baby bag sitting on the chair for me?"

Katrina nodded, hopping off the bed to retrieve the bag. "Oh man, it's heavy! What in the world does Gabe got in here?"

"Everything a baby needs." Alison unzipped the bag, grabbing the burping cloth she was looking for.

Katrina peered into the bag. "For such a little person, he's got a lot of stuff!"

"Mrs. Kovich?" said the nurse, walking into the room with a smile. "I have your discharge papers. Are you ready to get out of here?"

"Oh am I ever!"

"Gabe's ready to go home too," Katrina said. "He's had enough of this place. See? Hospitals make him wanna throw up."

Alison and the nurse laughed. And from the expression on Gabe's face, it looked like Katrina was right.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"One more time!" Katrina begged, holding one finger up in the air.

Nurse Summer laughed. "I don't know, Katrina. I'm getting a little pooped!"

"Please!"

Summer sighed. She was beginning to regret starting this little game. "Okay. _One_ more time! And that's it."

"Yay!"

Colleen watched them from the nurses' station, laughing. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Summer threw her a look as she turned the wheelchair around.

"Whee! Faster!" Katrina begged, holding on tight as Summer pushed her down the hallway in the wheelchair.

"Going for a ride, little miss?" an orderly said, laughing as he saw the two.

When they reached the end of the corridor, Summer turned the chair around, wheeling her back to the station.

"Again!"

"No, not again."

"Why not?"

Summer smiled. "It's time for you to go." Summer nodded towards the elevator.

Katrina hopped out of the chair, running over to where her parents were. A volunteer had just wheeled Alison out of the elevator. In her arms, Alison held the baby, who was, no surprise, sleeping again.

Rafe was right behind them, his arms full with the rest of the baby's things. "Ready to go, princess?"

"Yeah! Let's go home!"

xxxxxxxxx

Rafe had planned ahead, pulling the car up to the front so they didn't have to walk far.

Katrina strapped herself in, then watched as her daddy buckled Gabe into his seat.

Alison sat up front, breathing a sigh of relief that she was _finally _going home.

Once the baby was ready to go, Rafe loaded up the rest of the car and sat in the driver's seat. "So. Ready to go home?"

Alison gave him a smile. "Yes. Please."

"Gabe's going to miss seeing his room. He's sleeping!" Katrina complained.

"Oh, don't worry, princess. I'm sure Gabe won't be sleeping for too much longer." He threw Alison a knowing glance.

Alison agreed, remembering all of those nights when baby Katrina would not sleep at all. "Ain't that the truth."

Katrina didn't understand. She turned to look at her brother and smiled. She was finally glad he was here. He sure took forever.

Rafe then started up the car, and they were on their way home.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

Rafe slowly turned into the driveway. The car ride made Gabe sleep, but Katrina was wide-awake. She hopped out of the car and ran up to the front step. She waited impatiently as her parents took Gabe and all of his things out of the car.

Her mother finally started to make her way to the porch, but she seemed to be taking her time.

"Come on, Mommy! Hurry up!" Katrina finally said. People are inside waiting for you!"

"_Katrina!" _Rafe shot his daughter a look of disapproval. "You weren't supposed to tell!"

Katrina clasped her hands over her mouth, realizing what she had done. "Oopsie." Katrina looked up at her mother regretfully. "Sorry, Mommy."

"Don't worry, sweetie. I'll pretend I'm surprised."

Katrina smiled. She liked that idea.

Rafe, his hands full of bags, both Alison's and Gabe's, walked up the steps to the porch and managed to unlock the door with one hand. "Ladies first," he said, letting Katrina and Alison walk in.

Katrina had been right. There was a party.

"Welcome home!" Lucy said with a smile, walking over to get a glimpse of the baby.

"Look at the banner, Mommy! Christina and I made it!" Katrina pointed excitedly to the banner above the fireplace. "It says 'It's a Boy!'"

Alison gave Katrina a smile. "I love it, baby!"

Everyone gathered around to see the baby. Just a small group was there. Lucy, the girls, Livvie, Jack, and Jamal. Katrina had begged her father to invite practically the whole town but Rafe told her just a few people would suffice. After all, Gabe was sleeping anyway. He didn't even notice all of the people oohing and ahhing and otherwise, making a fuss over him.

But of course, being a newborn, he didn't sleep for too long. He announced to everyone that he was hungry with his loud cries the moment he woke up. And shortly after that, he cried again. Only this time, it was cry number two.

"I think someone needs a diaper change," Lucy said as she started to give him back to his mother.

"Oh no, don't hand him to me. Give him to Rafe. He's the one on diaper duty."

"Since when am I on 'diaper duty'?" Rafe asked.

"Since last Christmas when you promised me, that's when."

"What?"

"Don't you remember? You promised me that you would change every single diaper for two weeks."

"Yeah, Daddy!" Katrina piped up. "You have to change all the poopy diapers!"

"Remember now?" Alison asked, laughter in her eyes.

"Yes, I remember," he replied, remembering now the promise he had made. He had hoped Alison would forget about that but apparently, she had a better memory than he did.

Lucy grinned. "Well, have at it, cousin!" she laughed, handing the baby over to Rafe instead.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The party was winding down, with the exception of Jack and Livvie, who had hung around to help clean up.

"Alison, where do you want all of this?" Livvie asked, holding up a few baby gifts and things from the hospital.

"Could you put them up in the nursery?"

"Sure."

Alison looked down at Gabe, sleeping once again in his carrier.

"He's a cute kid, Alison."

"Thanks. I thought he'd never get here. Do you want to hold him?"

"No, that's okay. I held him earlier." Jack yawned, laying his head back on the couch.

"You look tired, Jack."

"I am. I didn't get much sleep last night. Kept having these crazy nightmares."

"What about?"

"I was flipping through the channels last night, and I started watching this weird show about the world of insects. Never watch a show about bugs before you go to bed."

Alison laughed.

"So anyway, it was pretty interesting for a while, but then they started talking about the mating habits of the praying mantis. Did you know that after mating, the female praying mantis sometimes kills the male by biting his head off? And sometimes she eats him completely! Supposedly it gives her extra protein so her offspring will be healthy and strong."

Alison had to laugh. She had a pretty good idea where this was going.

"All night, I kept dreaming I was in bed with a praying mantis."

Alison laughed harder. "Oh, Jack! It can't be that bad!"

"Oh, but it is that bad. Every time I had that dream, it scared the crap out of me and Livvie would start shaking me awake and yelling, 'Jack, be quiet! You're going to wake up Charlotte!' I kept thinking she was about to bite my head off."

"Well look, she's not going to be this way forever. You just have to understand that her hormones are kind of crazy right now, and she's pregnant so she has every right to get upset and complain. Trust me, I've been there."

"Well I'm counting down the months, that's for sure."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At the hospital, Alison had the nurses to help her with the baby. And at home, she had Rafe. It was easy to forget how much babies cried during the night when you hadn't had one in the house for five years.

"I'll get him," Rafe whispered, kissing a half-asleep Alison.

"If he's hungry again, just bring him here."

Moments later, Alison heard the sound of Rafe's voice on the baby monitor. Gabe's crying soon subsided as Rafe picked him up. Alison couldn't help but smile. She was so blessed to have a husband who was such a good daddy.

"There's Mommy," Rafe said softly, walking into the bedroom with a shaking Gabe. Was he cold? Was he hungry? Could he not sleep? Whatever it was, he was miserable. But the moment he was placed into his mother's arms, he calmed him down.

Alison laughed softly. "He's knows he's about to be fed."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Alison had forgotten how much work a baby was. Of course, this time around, it was a bit easier. It certainly wasn't as hard as the first time around. But nonetheless, it was still a lot of work.

She couldn't decide what needed to be done next. The baby needed to be fed every two hours, the housework was starting to pile up, and how many clothes was Gabe going to go through in one day? It was exhausting!

"Alison, you looked exhausted. You need to rest," Rafe told her.

"But the living room is a mess and I haven't even started on getting a snack ready for Katrina and she'll be home from school soon. And the baby is finally asleep, and I can't get any of that done when he's awake…."

"Sit down, Alison. Just rest for a while."

The moment Alison touched the couch, she was almost asleep. "But I have so much to do…"

"It can wait. You need to sleep. You've been up every two hours with the baby. He's sleeping now and so should you."

Alison was usually better at getting her way, but in this case, she was too tired to argue. She closed her eyes, letting sleep overtake her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alison stretched and yawned as she opened her eyes. She looked up, seeing Rafe walk around the living room, picking up things around the house.

Rafe, hearing Alison move, looked over and noticed she was awake.

"You're cleaning?" she asked him.

"Yeah." Rafe went over to the couch to sit beside her. "And I put away all the laundry and even did the dishes."

Alison grinned widely. "Aww. Rafe. You're the best."

"You don't have to do everything by yourself. Just let someone take care of you once in a while, alright?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Angel." Rafe leaned forward, kissing her softly.

"Is he still sleeping?"

Rafe looked over to the carrier where baby Gabe was still in a peaceful slumber. "Yeah, but not for too much longer, I'm sure."

Alison looked at her watch, realizing how much time had passed.

"That sounds like the school bus. I better go get Katrina." Rafe rose from the couch and walked out the front door.

Alison smiled at the baby, reaching out to touch him gently. His hands and fingers were so tiny. It was hard to imagine having hands that small. His skin was baby soft, and he smelled so good, like a combination of baby powder and something else. They should definitely bottle up that scent, she thought. It would make a fortune.

"Be real quiet. Your brother is sleeping," she heard Rafe say as he and Katrina walked in.

Katrina ran over to her mother and threw her bookbag on the couch. "Hi, Mommy!" she whispered.

"Hi, sweetie." Alison hugged her daughter and gave her cheek a kiss. "Did you have a good day at school?"

"Yeah. I showed everybody Gabe's picture and Miss D said he was the cutest baby in the whole wide world!"

Alison laughed.

Katrina moved over to where Gabe was, seeing his arm twitch. She touched him very gently. "Why does he sleep so much, Mommy?"

"Because babies need a lot of sleep so they can grow."

"Oh."

"But I think he's about to wake up."

Gabe began to move a little more, and right on cue, his eyes slowly opened.

"Hi, Gabe!" Katrina whispered to him, then giving the baby a kiss on his cheek.

"Princess, there's milk and cookies on the table if you're hungry."

"Okay." Katrina hopped off the couch and ran to the kitchen.

Rafe reached forward, taking Gabe out of his seat. "Have a good nap, buddy?"

Alison moved closer to Rafe, holding on to his arm and resting her head on his shoulder. She looked down at Gabe's sweet little baby face. "Mommy had a good nap too," she said with a smile.


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: Aww, thanks for the reviews everyone. You girls are so sweet :) Hope everyone had a great Easter holiday. Enjoy the chapter...it's one of my favorites! Until 41...!

**Chapter 40**

Katrina's favorite part of the day was probably the moment she stepped off the bus. Mommy and Gabe were always there, waiting for her at the door.

Every afternoon, Katrina would help her mother. She'd play with the baby while her mother went around the house, picking things off from the floor, getting laundry started, or whatever else she needed to do.

Gabe didn't do much but just sit there, but Katrina didn't mind. It was fun just being around him. She'd try to get his attention with his various toys, and sometimes Gabe would look on with interest.

"What happened at school today, baby?" Alison asked, walking into the living room with a basket full of clothes. It was amazing. For a person as small as Gabe was, he sure had a lot of dirty laundry.

"Chelsea got a time-out today for spittin' on someone!"

"Sounds like Chelsea needs to learn her manners."

"Yeah!"

Alison laughed. Chelsea had been in Katrina's daycare class and she never got along with that girl. Katrina was always giving her mother the update on what bad thing Chelsea did.

"Uh oh! Mommy!"

"What's the matter, baby?"

"Gabe's making his poop face!"

Alison picked up the baby from his bouncy seat. "Well in that case, I think someone needs a diaper change!"

"Can I help you, Mommy?"

"Sure. Come on."

Katrina followed her mother upstairs to the nursery.

Once there, Alison carefully placed the baby on the changing table.

Katrina climbed up on the side of the table, standing on its bottom shelf so that she could see the baby. "You're gonna get your diaper changed, Gabe!"

"That's right!" Alison said, undoing the tiny snap buttons at the bottom of his onesie. "We're going to get you all cleaned up!"

Gabe moved his arms about and cooed happily, seemingly oblivious that his diaper was soaking wet.

"Katrina, will you grab a clean diaper for me?"

Katrina reached under the table and took a fresh diaper out of the bag. "Here, Mommy!"

"Thanks, sweetie. Can you sit it right there until I'm ready for it?"

""Kay." Katrina set the diaper aside.

By this time, Alison had removed the dirty diaper and quickly disposed of it.

Katrina scrunched up her nose in disgust. She knew what was inside, and it wasn't pretty.

"Okay, baby boy, let's clean you up," Alison said cheerfully, grabbing a baby wipe as she did just that.

It was then that Katrina started to laugh. "Mommy! What's _that_?"

Alison glanced over at her daughter, watching her giggle as she pointed to Gabe. Alison tried to keep a straight face. She knew sooner or later, this question would come up.

"That's your brother's pee-pee."

Katrina laughed again. "Why does his pee-pee look like that?"

"Because that's what a boy's pee-pee looks like. They're different from girls."

Katrina thought about that for a moment, then suddenly had a thought. "Is that so he can pee standing up like Daddy?"

Alison couldn't help but laugh. She tried to imagine Rafe having this conversation with Katrina. "Yes, sweetie," she answered, hoping this would be all the questions about this subject for now.

"I wish I could pee standing up," Katrina announced. "Gabe, you're so lucky!"

Alison laughed again. "Your sister is silly, isn't she?"

Katrina watched as her mother took another wipe out of the container and wiped the baby's bottom. She pinched her nose when she saw what was on the wipe. "Eww, Gabe, you did a stinky!"

"Say I'm just a baby! I can't help it!" Alison said in a baby voice, smiling at her son as she finished cleaning him up.

"You gonna use the powder, Mommy?" Katrina asked, holding up the container of baby powder.

"Yeah, in just a second. Can you hand me that diaper?"

Katrina handed her mother the diaper and watched as she lifted up Gabe by his legs and slid the diaper under his bottom.

"Now we'll use the powder," Alison said, and Katrina handed it to her.

Alison sprinkled a tiny bit onto the diaper and gave the container back to Katrina. "You want to fasten the diaper up for me?"

Katrina smiled. "Yeah!"

"Okay, I'll hold the diaper down, and you fasten the sticky tabs."

Katrina did just that, and it was perfect. Alison could tell she had been practicing on her baby dolls.

"Good job, sweetie."

After fastening the tabs on the diaper, Katrina completed the job by snapping the buttons on Gabe's onesie. It took a while for her to get the buttons to snap, but she did it.

"Anyone home?" Rafe called out.

Alison smiled at Katrina. "Daddy's home. We're in here!"

"Hey," Rafe said, standing in the doorway of the nursery. "I thought I'd find you two in here."

"Hey, Daddy, guess what! I helped changed Gabe's diaper!"

"Oh you did? Well aren't you a good big sister helping out like that."

"Mommy did the gross part though! She had to wipe all the poop off!"

"Hi, sweetheart," Alison said, giving him a kiss as she handed him the baby. "Can you take the baby? I'm going to go wash my hands."

"Sure." Rafe carried the baby out of the nursery and down the hallway. Katrina followed him.

"So, princess, did you have a good day at school?"

"Yeah. It's Friday. Every day at school on Friday is a good day!"

Rafe laughed. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Hmm. Can we go to Chuck E Cheese?"

"_Chuck E Cheese_? No, princess, I think that would be a little too much excitement for your brother."

"Gabe needs to hurry up and get bigger then, because I want to go."

Rafe looked down at Katrina. "I tell you what. We'll go to Chuck E Cheese this weekend, just you and me, alright?"

Katrina smiled big. "Okay!"

"Do you still want pizza?"

Katrina thought about it. "Mmm, yeah!"

"Let's go see if Mommy wants to order one then."

Katrina nodded. It sounded like a good idea to her.

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All week long, Katrina had begged for someone to take her shopping for a Halloween costume. It was hard to believe that Halloween was already right around the corner.

So after their lunch at Chuck E. Cheese, they headed over to the costume store.

It was like a madhouse. Rafe had forgotten that every other kid in Port Charles would be trick-or-treating too.

"Let's look over there, princess," Rafe said, spotting a whole rack of dresses and costumes he was sure Katrina would love. "Look, they have princess gowns. You could be Cinderella."

"I was a Cinderella last Halloween, Daddy."

"Oh, that's right. Hmm. Oh look, you could be the little mermaid." Rafe pointed to the mermaid costume in front of them.

"No, I can't be the little mermaid, cause Ariel's got red hair."

"You don't have to have red hair, princess."

"Yes I do, if I want to be Ariel."

"You could be one of her sisters," Rafe suggested.

Katrina shook her head no. It was Ariel or nothing else, and she had to have red hair to play that part.

Rafe sighed. Alison was so much better at this sort of thing. Shopping was her specialty. "Well let's see what they have over here." Rafe wandered over to the wall, seeing more costumes on several racks.

"Rafe."

Rafe turned to see a familiar face. "Ian. Hey. Guess we had the same idea."

"Guess so. Who would have thought it'd be so crowded in this place?"

"Hate to see how it is the day before Halloween," Rafe laughed.

Katrina then spotted the perfect costume. "Ooo, Daddy! Come look!"

"What did you find, princess?"

"Look! It's a cowgirl costume! Can we get this?"

"Sure. If that's what you want."

"Yeah! I'm going to be a cowgirl! And then I can go trick-or-treating with Cookie!"

"Um, I don't think that would be a such a good idea, princess."

"But I have to, Daddy! A cowgirl has to have her horse!"

"Yeah, but I don't think the neighbors would appreciate the mess a pony would leave behind in their yard."

"No, they wouldn't care! They would LOVE Cookie! Everyone loves Cookie!"

"Sorry, princess. The answer is no."

"But, Daddy!"

"You can dress up as a cowgirl, but you are not trick or treating with your pony."

Katrina crossed her arms in defiance and frowned. It wasn't fair. But then she spotted Danny, and she suddenly forgot why she was angry. "Hey, Danny!"

"Hey."

"What are you going to be?"

"I don't know yet. What are you going to be?"

"A cowgirl!" Katrina showed him her Halloween costume.

"That's cool."

"Hey, Danny, if you be a cowboy, I'll be your cowgirl!"

"No thanks!" he scoffed, then running off to go look at the Spiderman costumes.

Katrina looked up to her father. "Daddy, except for you, boys are _stupid_!"

Rafe laughed. "Yes they are, princess. Yes they are."

xxxxxxxxxxx

2:15. Right on cue, Gabe began cry. Alison wished Gabe would sleep through the night, but she knew it would be a while before that happened.

"No, don't get up," Rafe said, seeing how tired she was. "It's my turn. I'll get him."

"There's milk in the refrigerator," she said groggily, then falling back asleep again.

Rafe dragged himself out of the bed, pretty tired himself, but not as tired as Alison. Alison loved her sleep. He just seemed to be adjusting to the new sleep schedule a little better.

Rafe walked down the hallway and headed to the nursery. Inside his crib, Gabe was still fussing. He picked up the baby up and held him close. "Hey there, buddy. What's the matter, huh?"

"Daddy?"

Rafe looked over to the doorway, seeing Katrina standing there. "What are you doing out of bed, princess?"

Katrina walked into the nursery and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Gabe woke me up. _Again_."

"I know. He woke me up too." Rafe gently patted the baby's back in an attempt to calm him down. It seemed to be working.

"Why does he cry so much, Daddy?"

"Well, he's a baby. He can't talk so crying is the only way for him to let us know that he needs something."

Rafe shifted the baby in his arms and held him in front of his face. "What is it, Gabe? Hungry?"

For a moment, it looked like his crying had finally stopped. Then his face crinkled up and the waterworks started all over again.

"What are you going to do, Daddy?"

"I'm going to take him downstairs so your mother can get some sleep. You want to come?"

'Yeah!" she whispered excitedly. Katrina loved helping out with Gabe, and besides, it was rare that she got to be out of bed at this hour.

Katrina followed her father out of the nursery and down the stairs. Rafe headed to the kitchen and got a bottle out of the refrigerator. Katrina took a seat at the table and watched as he put it in a pot of water and placed it on the burner.

"Gabe's got a bottle?" she asked, surprised. "I thought he only ate from Mommy's boobie!"

Rafe laughed softly. "Well…this is milk from Mommy. It's just put in a bottle."

Katrina stared at her father in confusion. "How does Mommy get the milk in there?"

"Um…you know, Princess. Maybe you better ask your mother that question."

"You don't know?"

"Well…I just think your mother can explain it better than I could."

"Hey, maybe I could sing Gabe a lullaby!" she said, changing the subject.

Rafe walked over to the table and sat down beside her. "I think that's a great idea, Princess. Here that, Gabe? Your sister wants to sing to you."

Gabe whimpered, still a bit fussy.

"Rock-a-bye Baby, on the tree top. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all."

Katrina smiled big when she was finished. "Like that, Gabe? Like my song?" She reached out and held her baby brother's hand.

Gabe hollered loudly.

Katrina looked up at her father and shook her head. "I guess he doesn't like it."

"No, I'm sure he does. He's just crabby right now because he's hungry. Why don't you sing him something else?"

"Okay." Katrina sang a few more songs, but Gabe still seemed just as unhappy.

"He's really hungry!" Katrina said.

"Well I think he's in luck. It should be ready by now."

Rafe stood up and went over to the stove. He took the bottle out of the pot and tested a drop on his wrist. It seemed just about right.

Gabe suddenly stopped his fussing as he stared at the bottle with big eyes.

"Oh boy, Gabe! Look what it is!" Katrina said to him. "A bottle just for you!"

"Come on, let's go in the living room."

Katrina followed her father and sat beside him on the couch. Rafe leaned over, turning the lamp to the lowest setting, not too bright, but still bright enough to see.

Rafe settled the baby in his arms and began feeding him the bottle, which he gladly accepted. "There we go, buddy. That's the good stuff, huh? I tell you what, Princess. Why don't you pick one of those story books on the table there and we'll read."

Katrina looked through the stack of library books and realized it was hard to pick just one. "Let's read all of them!" She picked up the whole stack.

"How about two?"

"Um…" Katrina looked through them, selecting two of the books. "These, Daddy."

"Okay. You hold the book up for me so I can feed your brother."

"He can listen to the story while he finishes his bottle."

"Alright, what's this story?"

"It's 'The Little Red Hen'. I can read some of this story, Daddy! I'll help read to Gabe!"

Rafe smiled and gave Katrina a kiss on her head. "Well then let's read."

Katrina opened the book and pointed to the pictures. "There was once a little red hen. And she found some seeds!"

Rafe joined in. "And she asked, 'Who will help me plant these seeds?'"

"Not I, said the dog," Katrina piped in.

"Not I, said the cat."

"Not I, said the pig."

"'Well then I'll plant them myself,' said the little red hen."

"And so she did!" Katrina said, turning the page.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Alison turned on her side, reaching out for Rafe. She opened her eyes when she realized Rafe wasn't there. Alison glanced at the clock. 4 am. The last time she looked at it, the time was a quarter after two. Did the baby wake up again? She hadn't heard him cry at all.

Alison rubbed her eyes and slowly got out of bed. She walked down the hallway and peeked into the nursery. When neither Rafe nor Gabe was there, she headed to the staircase.

Once downstairs she finally found them. There they were, all three of them, sleeping on the couch. The baby was fast asleep on Rafe's chest, and Katrina was nuzzled up against them. If she had had a camera handy, she would have taken a picture.

Alison picked up the books on the floor and placed them in a neat stack on the table. She picked up the bottle and was about to take it to the kitchen when she saw Rafe open his eyes.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

Rafe blinked his eyes a few times. "What time is it?"

"4 am. I didn't mean to wake you. You weren't in bed so I was just wondering where you were."

"No, it's okay. I'm glad you did. I'm liable to get a crick in my neck sleeping out here like this. Let's get the kids to bed."

"Here, I'll take him." Alison took the baby into her arms, being extra careful not to wake the little guy up again, as he was a light sleeper.

Rafe didn't have that problem with Katrina. She slept like a rock. He gathered her up in his arms and followed Alison up the stairs.

Once the children were tucked into their beds, all was quiet. And finally, everyone was able to get some sleep.


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: To Gracie & PCGirl - you don't know it, but you gave me an idea for this chapter a long time ago. Livvie needed something to do in my story, so I gave her a career.Thanks girls!

And thanks to everyone for reading. Until 42...and only a few more chapter left :(

**Chapter 41**

Katrina, dressed from head to toe in her cowgirl costume, watched Gabe as he sat in his bouncy seat, drooling away.

"Mommy, how come Gabe can't come trick-or-treating with us?"

"Because he's just a baby."

"But he can still come with us and wear a costume!"

"True, but it would be kind of hard for him to eat all of that candy without any teeth."

Katrina laughed. "Oh yeah! Poor Gabe! He's got no teeth!"

"Sweetie, are you all set to go? Aunt Livvie and Charlotte will be here any minute."

"Yeah."

"Are you bringing your little horse?"

"Oh! I forgot! He's in my room!"

"You better go get him then!"

Katrina raced up the stairs.

A few moments later, the doorbell rang. Alison went over to answer it.

"Trick or treat!" Charlotte said happily.

Alison laughed. "Look at you, Charlotte! Aren't you the cutest little cheerleader?"

"I'm gonna be a cheerleader when I grow up!" she proudly told her.

"Well alright!" Alison laughed. "Hey, Livvie."

"Hey."

Charlotte tugged on Alison's shirt excitedly. "Look, Auntie Alison, I got pom-poms!" She shook her pom-poms proudly.

"Well those are really cool!"

"Jack has some buddies that photograph the local high school games for the newspaper, so he's been on this Friday night football kick for a while. Well he took Charlotte to a game two weeks ago and she's been obsessed with being a cheerleader ever since."

"That's cute. How did you get the costume? Looks just like the PC High uniforms."

"Serena's got this friend and her mother is the coach for the team. She had this little miniature outfit that some elementary kid wore. She gave it to me and we sized it down to fit her. I made her wear pants with it though. She and I fought about that for a good fifteen minutes, but it's too cold for a skirt I think."

"Hey, Charlotte, are you going to show me a cheer?"

Charlotte suddenly became shy, shaking her head no and hiding behind her mother.

"Oh come on, Charlotte! Do a little cheer and dance for Auntie Alison." Livvie took one of her pom-poms and gave it a shake. "Gooo PC High!"

"Go PC High," Charlotte said softly.

Livvie laughed. "I can't believe she's being shy now. She did this whole routine at home, I swear."

"Giddy up, horsy!" Katrina shouted, running down the stairs with her stick horse in hand.

Rafe followed behind. "Katrina, no running."

"Trick or treat!" Charlotte shouted.

"Ooo, you're a cheerleader! Look at me! I'm a cowgirl!"

"I love your costume, Katrina," Livvie said.

"Thanks. Can we go trick-or-treating now, Daddy?"

"I'll get my coat and we'll go."

Charlotte jumped up and down. "Yay! Time for candy!"

"Rafe, thanks for taking Charlotte with you. Jack would do it but he's still out a town for that photo shoot."

"I don't mind. I'm sure the girls will have fun together, and I'll keep an eye on her."

"Oh we got to get a picture first!" Alison scrambled to find where she had set down the camera. She found it on the table. "Okay, girls, stand beside each other so I can get a picture.

Katrina and Charlotte posed for the camera, always one for having their picture taken.

"Okay girls, say Happy Halloween!"

"Happy Halloween!"

"Alright girls, you're free to go."

Livvie kneeled down, buttoning Charlotte's sweater. "Charlotte, you be a good girl, okay? And keep this sweater on."

"Okay, Mama."

"Come on, Charlotte! Let's go!" Katrina grabbed Charlotte's hand, leading her out the door.

"Bye, have fun!" Alison said, waving at them.

"Bye, Mommy!" Katrina gave her mother a wave, then ran to catch up with her father.

xxxxxxxxxx

As they walked down the sidewalk, Rafe was soon realizing just how many kids lived in this neighborhood. Groups and groups of kids dressed as witches and goblins and ghastly monsters with bags of candy made their way from house to house.

"Ooo! I got a Reese's Cup!" Katrina showed Charlotte her chocolate.

"I got M & Ms!"

"ARRRR! I'M A PIRATE! GIVE ME ALL YER CANDY! ARRR!"

"AHH!" Charlotte shrieked, then ran behind Rafe to hide.

Katrina just rolled with laugher. "It's just _Danny_!"

"Daniel, don't scare Charlotte like that anymore," Ian scolded.

"But, Dad! It's _Halloween_! It's _supposed_ to be scary!"

"Nice costume, Ian," Rafe laughed, commenting on the skeleton outfit Ian wore.

"Well at least I dressed up as something. What are you supposed to be? Man in a coat?"

"No, I thought it would be obvious." Rafe revealed a stake in his coat pocket. "I came as a vampire slayer."

Ian chuckled. "How original. And lazy."

"Daddy, let's go!" Katrina begged, wanting to get on with the trick or treating.

"Have you been there yet?" Danny asked, pointing to a house on the corner.

"No."

"You should! The girl there gives you extra candy if you ask for it!"

"Look how much candy I got!" Charlotte showed Danny her bucket.

"Oh that's nothing. Look how much I got!"

"I'm going to get more than both of you!" Katrina challenged.

"No way! Pirates get the most candy."

"Well my daddy says I have a sweet tooth like my mommy so I'm going to get TONS of sweets!"

Rafe and Ian exchanged glances. Yep, it was definitely Halloween, and the kids would no doubt be talking about candy for weeks afterward.

"Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!" Danny sang.

Katrina and Charlotte laughed.

"Sing that again, Danny!" Katrina laughed.

"Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!" they all sang.

"Let's sing that at the next house!" Danny suggested.

"Daniel. Zip it," Ian said firmly. "None of that or we can march straight back home with _no_ candy."

"Trick or treat, smell my feet!" Charlotte sang, rolling with laugher.

"Charlotte, you can't sing it anymore or we won't get candy!" Katrina told her.

Charlotte continued to laugh, revealing a mouth full of chocolate.

"Charlotte's already eating her candy!"

"Nu-uh."

Rafe kneeled down to her level, taking a good look at the child. "Charlotte, are you trying to get me in trouble with your mother?"

Charlotte just laughed.

"I'm just going to hold your bucket for you. You can eat your candy later."

xxxxxx

"Sorry about that," Alison said as she walked down the stairs with the baby. "I had a feeling it was time for his diaper change."

"Well now he's all fresh and clean."

"You want to hold him?"

Livvie smiled. "Sure. Hi there, little guy," she said, taking the baby into her arms.

"So...have you and Jack decided to find out what you're having?"

"Yeah, I think we will. Dr. Meadows says we'll do an ultrasound next time."

"So what do you want?" Alison asked with a smile.

"Oh a girl, definitely! Jack's all the testosterone our house needs. I don't know if I can handle anymore."

Alison laughed.

"And personally, I just don't want to have to buy all new baby clothes. If it's a girl, then she can just get all of Charlotte's hand-me-downs, you know?"

"What about Jack? What does he want?"

"Jack wants a boy. He hasn't said it, but I know. I get the feeling he wants someone to toss around a football with."

"So you want a girl and Jack wants a boy. Maybe you'll end up with both of them. Maybe the ultrasound will reveal that you're having twins."

Livvie's eyes grew wide and her face turned pale. "Oh god! Don't scare me like that! I hadn't even _thought_ of the possibility! And twins run in my family!"

Alison laughed. "Relax. I'm just teasing. I'm sure if you were having twins, Dr. Meadows would have detected two heartbeats by now."

"I'm worried about dealing with one. I don't think I could handle _two_."

"I think twins would be fun."

"Well if this turns out to be twins, then I'll make damn sure it doesn't happen again."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'll make Jack get a vasectomy, that's how."

"That's a bit extreme, Livvie! I'm not so sure he would go for that!"

"Oh he would. I'd make him. I might have to drag him in kicking and screaming but he'd do it. In fact, twins or no twins, maybe that's a good idea anyway."

"Livvie!"

Livvie just grinned at her, and Alison couldn't tell if she was only joking or if she was actually serious.

"So, when are you going back to work full time?" Livvie asked, changing the subject as she placed the baby in his bouncy seat.

"Not sure. I've really started to like just staying at home with him. I kind of like the stay at home mom thing."

"Oh, not me. I need "me" time. I feel like I'm watching _Blue's Clues _and _Sesame Street _all freaking day And Charlotte is finally getting tired of _Barney_ but now that the new baby is on its way, I'm sure I'll have to endure another three years of it."

"You should get out of the house more. Get a sitter for the kids and go out and do something. Jack's got his photography thing, so why shouldn't you do something you enjoy?"

"Actually, I have been thinking of something."

"What's that?"

"Well, remember a few years ago I was taking pre-med classes at PCU?"

"Oh my god! Livvie! Are you thinking about going back to school to be a doctor?"

Livvie grinned. "Maybe."

"I think that's great! You should do it!"

"I was thinking about it last night. I don't know if I necessarily want to go back to pre-med, but I was thinking about checking out the nursing program. And some of the courses I've taken before will count as credit."

"I think you would make a great nurse, Livvie."

"Thanks. Maybe I could get a job as like a school nurse or something. That way I wouldn't have to work so many hours. And then I'd be home in time to feed Jack."

Alison laughed. "Jack would appreciate that. I don't think he would like it too much if you were working the late shift at the hospital and he had to feed himself."

"We're already on a first name basis with the pizza delivery guy. I don't need to know the Chinese delivery man as well."

Just then, the front door opened and two very excited little girls ran in, with Rafe trailing behind.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look at all of my candy!" Katrina opened her bag and showed her mother all of the treats inside.

"Ooo! You got a _lot_!"

"Me too! Me too!" Charlotte said, holding up her bucket in front of her mother. "See Mama?"

"It looks like you girls had a fun time! Let me see your chocolate, Charlotte." Livvie took the bucket and began rifling through the candy. Of course, she was checking it to make sure it was safe, but she really wanted a piece of chocolate too. "Can Mommy have a piece too?"

"Yeah. You can have a piece, Mama."

Livvie smiled and gave her girl a kiss. "Thanks, Charlotte."

"Mommy, can I eat this one?" Katrina begged.

Alison took the candy and inspected it. "Sure, this looks safe. Go ahead."

"Hey, angel." Rafe walked over to Alison and kissed her.

"Hey."

"Did you two have a relaxing evening?"

"Yes, we did. The baby was well-behaved and we only had a few trick-or-treaters."

"Thanks again for taking Charlotte along, Rafe," Livvie said. "I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"No, not at all. But I'd watch her with the candy."

"Yes, and she's already making a mess. Charlotte, you've got chocolate all over your sweater. How did you do that?"

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

"Well, we better go home. It's getting late. Say goodbye to Katrina, Charlotte."

"Bye, Katrina."

Alison walked Livvie to the door as she gathered her coat and her purse.

"See you later," she said.

"Bye, Livvie. Bye Charlotte."

"Bye-bye!" Charlotte waved happily.

Alison closed the door behind them, then turned to Katrina. She was already digging into her bucket for more candy. "You know what, sweetie? I think that's enough candy for tonight. Too much sugar and you'll never get to sleep. You better let me check this first anyway."

"It's _safe_, Mommy! Who would poison _me_?" Katrina asked.

"You better let me check it. Just in case. You can have some tomorrow."

Rafe looked at the time. "Well, and it's getting late anyway. I think it's about time for little girls to get to bed."

"Oh, no daddy!" Katrina begged. "I'm not sleepy! Can't I stay up late tonight, Daddy? It's Halloween!"

"You did get to stay up late. You were trick-or-treating. And now it's time for you to go to bed. Go upstairs and brush your teeth."

"But I don't have school tomorrow!" she persisted.

"Katrina. Upstairs," he warned with a firm tone.

Katrina knew there was no point in arguing. Daddy meant business when he spoke that way. "Come on, Tiger," she said, picking the sleeping cat out from under the table, causing him to meow in protest for being disturbed.

"I'll come upstairs in a little while to tuck you in, sweetie," Alison called out to her as she headed up the stairs.

Rafe took a seat on the couch beside her. Gabe, sitting quietly in his bouncy seat, looked over to his father. Rafe reached over and picked him up.

"Look at this," Alison said, holding up a piece of taffy. "This sticks in her teeth so bad. It's going in the trash. She already had one cavity. She doesn't need another."

"You know, I'll never understand Halloween. You tell your children from the time they can walk to never take candy from strangers, and then what do they do on Halloween? Take candy from strangers."

Alison laughed. "Katrina wanted Gabe to go trick-or-treating with you."

Rafe smiled, holding up the baby as he gave his father a toothless grin. "Not for a few more years, buddy," he said with a laugh.


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: Dearest readers:**

I am sad to say that this will be the last chapter of Changes. :( You've probably noticed that it's been a while since my last update. I'm afraid the motivation to write just hasn't been with me lately, but it's not fair to my loyal readers out there to not finish this story. So I've decided to go ahead and put out my final chapter.

At this point, I'm not sure if I will write a sequel. I'm not saying I won't, the possibility is always there, and I do have a story that I want to tell, but I wish I could write as fast as my mind thinks. I just don't know if I have the time. So if I feel inspired and I have the time and motivation, I'll write something. But I'm not going to post anything until I can be sure that it will be something I can finish. I don't want to start posting a story just to leave it incomplete. I hope everyone understands, but I just don't want to make any promises that I can't keep.

I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing. This has probably been my favorite fanfic to write, and I had a blast writing Katrina. If I ever have a kid, I want her. I think she's the coolest (fictional) kid on the planet, and I thank you for loving her as much as I do. I'll miss her, maybe just as much as I miss Rafe and Alison.

Please let me know what you think…and hope everyone enjoys the rest of their summer. Thanks again for reading! My fans are awesome :)

**Chapter 42**

Katrina looked out the window for the fifth time that hour. Every time she heard a car, she thought it was Daddy. But it wasn't.

"Is that good, Gabe? Do you like that?" Alison smiled as she fed Gabe his bottle. "Wow, my hungry boy! He's almost finished!"

"Mommy?"

"What, sweetie?"

"When's Daddy going to be here?"

"Soon."

"Where did he go?"

"I don't know. He said he was bringing us home a surprise."

"But what?"

Alison laughed. "I don't know, baby."

Katrina sighed.

"Why don't you go play while you wait for Daddy to get back?" Alison suggested as she stood up and carried the baby into the kitchen.

Katrina walked over to the chair and picked up Bernie where she had left him. "Bernie, do YOU know what the big surprise is?"

Bernie just stared back at her, grinning.

"Bernie, it's not polite to keep secrets!"

Suddenly, Katrina heard a car outside. Tossing Bernie on the couch, she ran to the window to see if it was him.

It was! Daddy's headlights shined into the house as the car turned into the driveway. And it was then that Katrina learned what the big surprise was.

Katrina ran to the kitchen. "Mommy! Mommy! Come look! Daddy's home! He's got the big surprise!"

Alison was busy wiping Gabe's messy face with a wet washcloth. "I'll be there in just a minute, Katrina."

Katrina ran back into the living room, running to the door and throwing it open. "Daddy!"

"Hey, Princess!"

"Daddy, a Christmas tree!"

Rafe gave her a smile as he began to untie the tree off the top of the car. Finally, he got it down. "Stand back so I can get this into the house."

Katrina moved back and watched as her father carried the tree into the house. "Mommy! Come here!"

A few moments later, Alison emerged from the kitchen with the baby in her arms. "Rafe, you bought a Christmas tree!"

"Thought it was finally time we should get one. Merry Christmas, angel."

"I love it."

Rafe walked over to her, giving her a kiss. "What do you think of the tree, Buddy? Huh?"

Alison smiled as she handed the baby over to him.

"It's your very first Christmas tree," he said to him, walking him over to where the tree was. Although Gabe didn't appear to be all that interested. Rafe laughed, handing him back over to Alison. "Well, it was worth a shot."

"Maybe he'll like it more once he sees it decorated."

Katrina's eyes grew wide. "Ooo! Can we decorate it now? Huh, Daddy?"

"I think that's a great idea. The Christmas decorations are in the attic."

"YAY!" Katrina cheered, running up the stairs.

"I better go help," he said with a smile, following Katrina upstairs.

Katrina opened the attic door and raced up the steps.

"Katrina, don't run."

"I'm not gonna fall, Daddy. Ooo, lookie! So much stuff in here! Where's the Christmas stuff?"

Rafe looked around, trying to remember where they had put them when they moved here. "Somewhere around here."

"Maybe here!" Katrina went over to a big box.

"No, just clothes in there." Finally, he spotted the box that was labeled "Christmas Decorations."

"Ah, here we go," he said, picking up the box.

"You found them?"

"Yep. They're right here."

"Oh boy!"

Alison had just settled onto the couch with the baby when she heard Katrina running down the stairs, singing.

"Here comes, Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus lane! Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm…."

"Ho, ho, ho, we come forth bringing decorations!" Rafe bellowed.

"We need Christmasy music!" Katrina said.

"Oh, get that CD off the shelf, Rafe. It's right there beside the DVD player."

Rafe took the CD and put it into the player. A few moments later, music began to play.

"Ooo! Christmas stuff!" Katrina ran to the ornament box her father had set down and rummaged through it.

Rafe walked over and peered into the box. "Let's see what we've got here."

"Come decorate the tree with us, Mommy!"

"You know, sweetie, I think I'm just going to sit here with the baby and watch you two. He's kind of gassy," she whispered, patting the baby's back.

Katrina laughed. Gabe always had gas. "You do the high-ups, Daddy! And I'll take the bottom!"

"Sounds likes a plan!" Rafe said, taking a few ornaments out of the box.

"Where's my gingerbread man?"

"I think it's in here, Princess." Rafe rummaged through the box and grabbed the ornament out.

"Oh boy!" Katrina gladly took the gingerbread man, then ran to the tree to pick out a spot for it.

"Hey, Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"How will Santa know what to get Gabe for Christmas?"

"Santa Claus knows everything," he winked.

"Gabe probably wants a new rattle," Katrina decided.

Alison laughed. "Probably so."

"Can we go see Santa tomorrow? Gabe's never seen Santa before!"

Rafe smiled. "Sure. We'll go tomorrow."

"Yay!" Katrina ran over to Gabe, sitting contently in his mother's arm. "Hear that, Gabe? You're going to see Santa tomorrow! You better think about what you want for Christmas because Santa knows!"

Rafe thought about last year when Katrina saw Santa. He smiled, thinking of the memory. It was then that Katrina had asked for a baby brother or sister. She had also asked for a pony, and got one. This year would be tough to top. Rafe looked across the room, watching Katrina sit by the tree and digging through the box of ornaments, singing some song about Santa to herself.

It was that very moment that Rafe happened to look out the window. First, he saw one, and then, he saw another. A few seconds later, several little snowflakes were stuck to the glass.

"Hey, Princess?"

"What?"

"It's snowing."

"It's snowing!" Katrina hopped up from her spot on the floor and ran to the window to see for herself.

Alison joined them, walking over to the window to look out with the baby.

"Look, Gabe! Look at the snow!" Katrina pointed out the window excitedly.

"It's so beautiful," Alison said.

"Yes, it is," Rafe agreed, putting his arm around Alison.

Katrina was glued to the window, pressing her nose against the glass, watching the flakes fall to the ground.

Gabe, oblivious to the snow, was already asleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Christmas morning had arrived. That was obvious, as torn wrapping paper littered the carpet and all that could be heard were the sounds of toys that made a lot of noise. Even Tiger was having fun as he chased a crumpled ball of wrapping paper around the room.

Alison took the baby upstairs where it was quiet. He looked like he was getting sleepy and was ready for his mid-morning nap.

Katrina stood up and walked over to the window, gazing out. It looked like Christmas. More snow was falling from the sky, covering the ground in a smooth, white blanket.

Daddy said that later that afternoon, they would go out and make snowmen, and then come back inside and drink hot cocoa. But the snow was coming down too fast right now, so it was best to just watch from inside, Daddy had told her. As she watched the snow, she yawned. All of the hard playing with her new toys from this morning had worn her out.

Katrina headed up the stairs to see what her mother was up to. "Whatcha doing, Mommy?"

"Putting up these new clothes Daddy gave me," she said with a smile. How had Rafe known that clothes were at the top of her Christmas list? She had been dying for some new clothes since she got back down to her normal size. It felt like she had been wearing maternity for ages.

Katrina climbed up on the bed and gently touched her baby brother's cheek, being careful not to wake him up. "I think Gabe likes his presents from Santa," Katrina said.

"Me too. Sweetie, can you do Mommy a favor?"

Katrina nodded.

"Can you watch your baby brother for a moment? I've got to run downstairs but I'll be back."

"I can watch him, Mommy. I'll make sure he doesn't fall off the bed."

"Thank you, sweetie," Alison said, giving her a kiss on her cheek.

Katrina looked down at her little brother and kissed his fuzzy head. "I love you, Gabe."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Alison stood in the doorway to her bedroom, watching them. Katrina was fast asleep in the middle of the bed with one arm protectively over her sleeping baby brother.

Alison heard footsteps behind her and turned around. "Rafe, come look at this."

Rafe poked his head into the bedroom, smiling at the sight of them.

"I told Katrina to keep an eye on Gabe while I went downstairs to take some muffins out of the oven, and when I came back, they were like that."

"Well, like I always say. They get their love of sleep from you," Rafe said with a laugh, kissing the top of Alison's head.

"Oh, Rafe, we have such beautiful children. Don't you think?"

"The most beautiful children in the whole world."

Alison took Rafe's hand and led him into the room. "I think they have a good idea. I could take a nap right about now too. Come join us."

Rafe smiled. "Well, I guess I could rest for a little while. I am a little tired."

Alison and Rafe got into bed, Alison on Gabe's side, Rafe on Katrina's. They reached out for each other's hands, lacing their fingers together as their children lay sandwiched between them. And not long after that, the wind howling outside was the only sound heard, and the four of them were all sound asleep.

THE END


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